The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), has withdrawn the pre-action notice it gave the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).
Also withdrawn was the petition it filed against the organisation which has been a subject of police investigation. The two actions of NAGAFF had combined to strain the relationship between the association and SON.
Announcing the withdrawal of all the impending cases against SON in a press conference on Friday, the founder of NAGAFF, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, said his association and the Standard Organisation of Nigeria had never been at logger-heads.
Rather, he said that NAGAFF had always enjoyed a cordial relationship with all government agencies charged with the responsibility of protecting the integrity of the nation.
He further said that the association had always shared government’s concern in its fight against smuggling, counterfeiting, and dumping of fake and sub-standard goods in the country.
Aniebonam explained that he had to call the press conference to dispel “the erroneous impression in some quarters that there is misunderstanding between the SON and the NAGAFF.”
The NAGAFF founder, however, stated that some issues the freight association raised against SONCAP regulation remained critical to the sustenance of international trade and freight business in Nigeria.
“Much as we still beleive that our stand on the charges and default penalties of SON are justiceable, we do hope that the SON management will deal with it sooner rather than later with due consideration, thus encouraging trade,” he said.
Aniebonam also said that the withdrawal of the actions against SON was instigated by their “principals who asked us to stop all pending legal actions against SON” and seek alternative means to resolve the problem.
“It is therefore our desire and mandate to respect and obey the instructions of our principals i.e. the importers who do not seem to understand the legitimacy of the fight for justice that we started on their behalf and have been throwing barbs at us.
They now wrongly assume that the cost of doing their businesses has risen astronomically since the problem started with SON,” he stated.
The NAGAFF chieftain observed that obeying SONCAP was germane to the protection of life and property of Nigerians, adding, however, that the penalty for its contravention should still be addressed by the SON management without derailing the objective of SONCAP rules and regulations.