…. Retains Taiwo Mustapha as BoT Chair
The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) is set to hold elections to bring in new leaders into its National Executive Committee (NECOM) as it yesterday inaugurated a six- man Association Electoral Committee (ASECO) to facilitate the process and conduct elections into the NECOM.
This is just as the association has appointed and retained Alh.Taiwo Mustapha as Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) with Chief Ozor Chukwura as Vice Chairman and Chief Kingsley Offor appointed Secretary of the Board.
The inauguration of the ASECO members which was witnessed and supervised by the Chairman of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) Governing board, Alh. Tsanni Abubakar has Alloy Anokwuru as Chairman, Mustapha Yakubu as Secretary while Mr. Samuel Obe, Elochukwu Obiora, Lekan Babalola and Tope Fatimehin will serve as members.
Speaking at the inauguration which held at the ANLCA’s national secretariat in Lagos on Thursday, the CRFFN Chairman urged ANLCA members to sustain the peace in the association and guard it against sabotage by those he said are beneficiaries in the crisis that rocked ANLCA for the past five years.
He also appealed to members to withdraw all court cases in the interest of peace in the association.
“We came here today because I want to know whether the association has truly reconciled or not because I still received some complaints from some members who say that they have still not settled.
“What I am appealing to all of you is to stay in peace because if care is not taken another fresh fight will still come up because there are those who benefitted from the crisis,” he said.
Speaking on the NECOM election, Abubakar said only members who are registered with the Council will be allowed to vote and contest, adding that the Council will be an observer in the election.
“One important issue is that whoever will contest, vote or be in the Electoral Committee must be a registered member of CRFFN either as an individual or corporate organisation and must pay all the annual subscription fee and renew their dues,” he said.
Speaking earlier, ANLCA Acting National President, Dr. Kayode Farinto expressed regret over the five-year-old crisis, which he attributed to ego and selfish interest.
He noted that while the leaders in ANLCA could easily sort out their challenges at the port it wasn’t so for the younger agents, who he said suffered severely from the leadership crisis.
“We have been fighting ourselves for no just course but for two reasons- ego and selfish interest and that has not helped anybody in the industry. Particularly, the younger agents are the ones suffering from it. All of us seated here are CEOs that can find our ways in the port,” he said.
Farinto, however, expressed appreciation to the CRFFN Chairman and leaders in ANLCA for their efforts in restoring peace to the association.
He enjoined all members to forget about the crisis and work towards rebuilding the image of the association to restore its lost glory.
“This peace is total, and we should all forget about our differences and selfish interests and focus on our profession. This is a healing period, and we will not appreciate anyone that wants to throw a spanner in this healing period because we have decided to swallow everything that has to do with our ego in the interest of our profession and the collective good of the sector.
“I want to appeal to all of us to use this healing period to rebuild the image of ANLCA and have a new ANLCA. If we come together, there is nothing we cannot achieve,” he said.
On the NECOM election, Farinto said all ANLCA members are free to contest for any position of their choice as long as they are qualified.
“Gone are the days that we produced half-baked graduates and that is why we have not had it right. If you are not a CEO of a registered company, you won’t know what our members are going through in the field. Immediately after the NECOM election, we will sit and chart a way forward,” he said.
In his remarks, the ANLCA BoT Chairman, Taiwo Mustapha appealed to members who are still aggrieved to sheath their sword and join hands in rebuilding ANLCA.
He said the BoT under his watch will never compromise the standard of the election, which he said will be strictly based on merit.
“In the interest of ANLCA, the industry, our businesses and families, I plead with everyone to allow peace to reign. It has taken us five years to get to this level. It is high time we see ourselves as one.”
“In the election that we will be having, as the BoT Chairman and as far as I am concerned, no money will exchange hands. What we want to bring on the table is merit and credibility,” he said.
In his acceptance speech, Chairman of ASECO, Alloy Anokwuru assured that the election will be based on merit.
He warned, “The era of uploading and downloading is not applicable. If you know you are not qualified, don’t bother to come out.”
