An aspirant in the botched elections into the Tin Can Island Port chapter of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Mr Kayode Farinto has accused some individuals of frustrating every effort to conduct elections into the chapter executive council.
The association electoral committee (ASECO) had for the fourth time failed to conduct the tension soaked election which had been slated for the high fortified Command Guest House in Apapa, but a last minute order purportedly from the Chief of Army Staff led to the cancellation of the exercise which had goner mid- way.
But apparently disappointed at the turn out of events last week and worried that previous attempts had been frustrated by some individuals, Farinto, who is contesting for the post of chairman told our correspondent last weekend that some members and non-members of the association who are bent on not frustrating the election have been forming unholy alliances under some questionable Yoruba elders within and outside the association to put stumbling blocks in the process.
He specifically mentioned a member of the Council for the regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Alhaji Moshood Tijani for allegedly sponsoring the attacks and all efforts to make sure that the elections do not hold.
“Their leader is Alhaji Moshood Tijani, popularly called Tijako, he is a Lagos state government agent, he was actually sponsored into the CRFFN, he is a government contractor in the guise of a clearing agent, and he does not belong to any association”, he alleged further even as he lamented that two former members of the association ran to him for support when it dawned on them that they were about to lose out in the long sustained game of unpopular style of leadership.
“He gave them money to hire thugs to disrupt the elections, but they will finally fail because of the collective will of the generality of our members to free themselves from the shackles of bad leadership”.
“ANLCA has conducted elections in the eastern zone and in the north and there was no problem, it is only this wild, wild west and it is because of the selfish interests of people who have been using the name of the association for their own personal gain, they don’t even collect bill of laden, they don’t even have a license”.
He expressed strong confidence in the ability of those whom he referred to as genuine Yoruba leaders to rise above the present disturbances and ensure that sanity returns to Tin Can Island chapter of the association.
“The genuine leaders that I know of are : Aare Sanni Shitu, , Chief Odedeyi, Prince Taiye Oyeniyi, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, Mr Dayo Abdulazeez and I am confident that they will not condone the antics of a few who are bent on giving the south west a bad name”, he stressed.
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