NAN-HE-5
Fund
By Aisha Cole
Lagos, Aug. 1, 2017 (NAN) Mr Okwudili Daniels, the Secretary of Cargo Defence Fund (CDF), says the Fund is rendering dispute resolution and legal services to importers and exporters to improve Nigerian trade volume.
Daniels said this in a paper he presented at a meeting of the Export Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday in Lagos.
According to Daniels, the Fund with the Maritime Arbitrators Association of Nigeria have been enlightening and drafting dispute resolution clauses for international trade contracts and standard form contract for the various import/export trades.
“Generally, the Cargo Defence Fund has over the years continued to enlighten Nigerian exporters on safe or secured payment methods and the use of Letters of Credit for their shipments.
“One other achievement of the Fund is that over the years, it has observed that some shippers do not have the required information and they blame their brokers in most cases.
“ Some shippers requested the Cargo Defence Fund to arrange insurance scheme.
“The scheme is, therefore, designed to help these situations so that shippers continue in business after they have suffered losses, ’’ he said.
Daniels said that with the joint efforts of the Fund and the Nigerian Insurers Association, new risks faced by shippers were identified and strategies were harmonised to minimise risks collaboration with the stakeholders.
He said that the Fund had ensured successful repatriation of proceeds and prevention of Letters of Credit fraud, among others.
According to him, the Fund ensures that Nigerians receive good value for their money..
Daniels said that the Fund and the Nigerian Insurers Association had a joint committee where the Fund and the insurers interacted regularly.
“The Fund has developed procedures to claim successfully from insurance companies, who before this development, would refuse to honour any claim due to one mistake or the other from the claimants.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the CDF is a company limited by guaranty.
It was established by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to assist importers and exporters in the pursuit of their legitimate claims.
It is a mutual scheme for importers and exporters in the sense that shippers contribute to the Fund by way of registration.
The registration fee is paid into the Fund and when a registered member runs into a problem, the mutually-contributed Fund is used to assist the member in solving his or her problems. (NAN) AIC/AJA/TA
Edited by Adeleye Ajayi/Tajudeen Atitebi