The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) is unable to meet its revenue targets over the years, with significant variance between approved budgets and actual revenue generated.

Recall that the Federal Government announced plans to stop funding professional bodies and councils from budgetary allocations from January 2024 in line with the recommendation of the Presidential Committee on Salaries (PCS).

Data released by a senate committee member under the Marine Transportation committee, who pleaded anonymity, showed that the Federal Government, in 2022, set an approved budget of N5.04 billion for CRFFN to generate.

The council, however, struggled to reach its targets as it generated only N471.6 million, which represented just 9.37 per cent of the approved budget.

Also, the Federal Government allocated an approved budget of N873.2 million for CRFFN in 2023, but by September 30, the council had generated N388 million, marking a 44.52 per cent performance.

Although the revenue performance in 2023 showed an improvement over the previous year, it still fell short of the budgeted amount.

Also, the breakdown of the revenue sources revealed similar trends in both years as the 2022 budget allocated N4.76 billion for Practitioners’ Operating Fees (POF), but CRFFN only managed to generate N420 million, representing just 8.8 per cent of the approved budget.

In 2023, the Federal Government approved N600 million for CRFFN to generate through POF. As of September 30, the council had already generated N360.25 million, marking a 60.04 per cent performance.

Membership registration fees saw impressive performance in 2022, with an approved budget of N2.47 million and CRFFN generating N21.43 million, exceeding expectations at 866.1 per cent.

In 2023, membership registration fees had a budget of N93.2 million, with CRFFN generating N13.5 million, resulting in a performance of 14.48 per cent.
However, yearly subscription fees struggled, with a budget of N273.1 million but only N30.15 million generated, resulting in a budget performance of 11.03 per cent in 2022.

In 2023, yearly subscription fees continued to be a challenge, with a budget of N180 million and only N14.2 million generated, reflecting a budget performance of 7.29 per cent.

The CRFFN’s leadership had during a recent interactive session with the senate committee on marine transportation, attributed the difficulties in meeting revenue targets to several issues, including legislative intervention.

The CRFFN leadership emphasised the importance of collaboration and integration with key stakeholders, while seeking support from the Senate Committee on Marine Transportation to facilitate these efforts.

The Council further stated that it faced multiple litigations and court cases from practitioners, who resist paying the POF, a significant revenue source.
The council also called for intervention from the Senate Committee to address these legal challenges.