NECOM election: ANLCA members reject Farinto’s attempt to restore Henry Njoku- led BoT

Members of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) have rejected attempt by the Kayode Farinto-led National Executive Committee (NECOM) to return the Henry Njoku- led Board of Trustees (BoT) which tenure has since expired as registered board members to conduct the association’s forthcoming election.

This comes after Farinto announced at an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the association’s national secretariat in Lagos on Monday that the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has written the association that it has cancelled the certificate of registration issued to Alhaji Taiwo Mustapha-led BoT in 2020 and that Chief Henry Njoku led BoT of 2001 is now the recognized Board.

According to Farinto, with the pronouncement by CAC, Henry Njoku- led board will now be the one to supervise the forthcoming NECOM election in order to forestall any litigation after the election.

He said, “In the course of the (ANLCA) crisis, Chief Elochukwu and others insisted and compelled the Nigerian Police to write to the Corporate Affairs Commission to determine which the genuine board was. It will interest the NEC to know that the commission has written back that she has cancelled two certificates which were in contention and saying that Chief Henry Njoku and others are still the recognized board members.

“In view of this, we will be delighted and will want it to be on record as to which board will supervise the forthcoming NECOM election to forestall any litigation after the election.”

Farinto also explained that part of the reason for calling the emergency NEC meeting was to query the decision of the BoT to investigate the operating licenses of members of the Association Electoral Committee (ASECO), saying that such action is not in line with the constitution.

But in a swift reaction, members of ANLCA present at the meeting kicked against the move which they described as an attempt by Farinto to manipulate the electoral process in order to impose himself as the President of the association.

They also questioned the rationale for the meeting when the recognized members of the BoT led by Taiwo Mustapha, who had earlier called for the postponement of the NEC meeting due to the Eid holiday are absent.

Speaking with journalists after the NEC meeting which ended abruptly as members loyal to Mustapha led BoT staged a walk out over the development, leader of the Western Zone of ANLCA, Chief John Ofobike accused the duo of Njoku and Farinto of anti-association activities and deliberate plot to destroy the association in the event that their ambition to hold on to power fails.

He said, “For five years we have been in this crisis. It cost me a lot of pain to see that ANLCA that has made all of us is being dragged to this level. The Chairman of CRFFN came and forced us to swallow a very bitter pill, after some rethink we say let us even see if it’s going to bring a lasting peace.

“We accepted the fake board of four-four members from each side. I will say for the interest of peace, let it be. Do you know that they have registered a parallel association called Ports Users Association? Farinto was sworn in as President in the East last year. Dennis Ukwu is the Chairman of the board; Kingsley Offor is member of the board, while Henry Njoku is the Chief patron. They have their letter headings, they are writing to shipping companies who give them returns, they are writing to government agencies including SON and NAFFAC. They were doing all these things secretly, but everything is now in the open.”

Ofobike who blamed the Taiwo Mustapha led BoT for the troubles and pains caused by the crisis in the association described the board as weak.

He explained that it is the responsibility of the board to take over the running of day -to- day affairs of the association and supervise ASECO to conduct the forthcoming elections.

“Our problem right now is the weakness of the board, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees is weak, that is Alhaji Mustapha. This is a constitutional issue, at any time when there is no government in place, the Board takes over, it has happened under Idonije, it happened under Henry Njoku, he was head of the association for one year after Elochukwu, this is the norm.

“The people saddled with election matters are the BoT, they are the ones that determine the mode of election in conjunction with ASECO, there is nothing like NEC, you cannot be a referee in a march you are playing, this is what Farinto is doing”

“The essence of today’s meeting was to elongate the tenure of Farinto who has stayed five and half years in office, they want to elongate the tenure again which is against the constitution.

“We allow all these things because they are like a bull in a Chinese shop, if we use force to eject them, they would scatter ANLCA because they have registered an alternative association that is feeding them. If we had boycotted this meeting, they would have had their way today.

“There must be screening and verification of licenses, there were petitions against some ASECO members, a committee was set up to verify authenticity of the licenses in question, but Henry Njoku with his sense called this NEC meeting, he flew in from Port Harcourt to tell us that the only board recognized in Abuja was the one registered in 2001, which he was the only person there. He was later joined by Taiye Oyeniyi, Sunday Odedeyi and all of them currently do not have practicing licenses.

“They have come today to say they are the ones saddled with the responsibility of conducting elections and take us back to Egypt, but God is God of ANLCA. What they wanted to do today was announce Henry Njoku as Board Chairman, inaugurate a new ASECO and choose the mode and place for the election, that was their agenda. These are the people causing crisis in ANLCA and feeding on the association.

“Farinto wants to be President by all means and this was why he refused to heed the letter written by BoT Chairman who advised that the meeting be postponed until after Eid prayers. You can see that even their own members who were at the meeting today were not happy, hence they called the meeting off,” he said.

Also speaking, Secretary of the Tin Can Island Port Chapter, Barr Michael Ovien, pointed out that going by the letter of the CAC recognizing Henry Njoku board, it then means that all activities and elections carried out since expiration of the board in 2004 is null and void. He said that Farinto and Mukaila and others therefore have no right to remain as executives and all seats thereby remain vacant.

With this development, there are concerns that the planned NECOM election of the association scheduled for July 5^th 2023 may be postponed.