Oluyinka Onigbinde
The Council for the Regulations of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) on Tuesday oversaw the inauguration of a six-member Association Electoral Committee (ASECO) of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), few weeks after brokering peace in the association.
The newly-inaugurated members of ASECO include: Mr. Alloy Anokwuru (Chairman), Mr. Mustapha Yakub (Secretary), Mr. Samuel Obe, Elochukwu Obiora, Lekan Babalola and Tope Fatimehin.
Meanwhile, Alhaji Taiwo Mustapha has emerged Chairman of ANLCA Board of Trustees (BOT) while Chief Ozoh Chukwura and Chief Kingsley Offor emerged Vice Chairman and Secretary of the BOT, respectively.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the Governing Board Chairman of CRFFN, Alhaji Abubakar Tsanni encouraged members of the association to build upon the peace already achieved in the association.
Tsanni, however, reiterated that only ANLCA members who are registered with CRFFN will be allowed to vote, contest in the election or function as members of the Electoral Committee.
He told the gathering of ANLCA members that: “One important issue is that whoever will contest, vote or be in the Electoral Committee must be a member of CRFFN; either as an individual or corporate body. I came today because I wanted 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.”
“Let’s stay in peace because if care isn’t taken, another fight might erupt. We have to standup and ensure that we maintain peace because some people benefitted from the crisis and they will want it to happen again. I encourage members of the association to be liberal and appreciate God for the resources they have been blessed with,” Tsanni said.
On his part, the ANLCA Acting President, Dr. Kayode Farinto observed that a lot of ANLCA leaders have attained a level where they could sort out their challenges at the ports easily, whereas younger practitioners suffer severely from the leadership tussle.
“A lot of us are Chairmen and CEOs; we can find a way to get things done at the port. I thank God that we have been able to find a way to have peace. This peace is total and we should all forget about our selfish interest. This is a 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. It’s time to start moving forward and this healing period should be time to rebuild ANLCA and have a new ANLCA,” Farinto said.
He, however, expressed delight that nobody died while the five-year crisis in the association lasted, even as he announced that as a continuation of the recent AGM, “we had a meeting recently and resolved that Alhaji Mustapha should be Chairman of the board.”
Giving his remarks, the ANLCA BOT Chairman, Mustapha said: “In the interest of ANLCA, the industry, our businesses and families, I plead with everyone to allow peace to reign. It is high-time we saw ourselves as one.”
“In the election that will come up, as BOT Chairman, I want to assure you that no money will exchange hands. What we are concerned about is merit. As long as you have the certificates, you will have an opportunity.
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