Crisis Hits ANLCA Over Chapter Elections

There are indications that the centre may no longer hold at the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) ahead of its Western zone chapter elections, scheduled to hold on Monday.
Shipping Position Daily confirmed exclusively yesterday that the division is the fall out of a meeting of the association’s Board of Trustees (BoT) with the electoral committee, which held on Tuesday, to put finishing touches to preparations for the all-important elections.
Our correspondent learnt that trouble started after the association’s electoral committee (ASECO) was to submit its report. Our source said that the report was not allowed to be submitted by the BoT chairman.
Sources at the meeting told one of our correspondents that, the BoT refused to accept the report and insisted that a document (Form C30) should be presented by all those who had earlier been cleared to vote, a decision which did not go down well with most aspirants.
Particularly, a member of the association’s BoT who attended the meeting confided in Shipping Position Daily that the document upon which some voters are to be disqualified did not emanate from the ASECO, but from a member of the BoT, whose identity he failed to disclose. He was alleged to have collected the document for the Customs.
“As it is now, many of those who had been cleared to vote on Monday next week may be disenfranchised by the BoT, you know it is the board that supervises elections”.
He also confirmed that the document that the BoT is insisting on has been dropped as one of those that must be tendered by license holders to enable them to vote or be voted for.
Asked if the board had met to agree on the new arrangement, he said he was not at any meeting where such a decision was taken. “The form was not requested for by the ASECO, so I personally don’t know why the BoT chairman suddenly decided to shift the post midway into the game”, we have not been using Form  C30”, he insisted.
Our correspondent however learnt that the final list of voters was still been worked on as ta late yesterday.
Efforts to speak with the ASECO chairman, Alhaji Babatunde Mukaila were unsuccessful. After many attempts, he managed to answer but told our correspondent that he was at a very crucial meeting. He promised to call back, but did not as at press time.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that the Chairman, Associations Electoral Committee (ASECO) had warned that candidates who have wooed licenses which do not meet the laid down procedures of the committee would be shocked as such licenses will not be allowed to vote.
Our correspondent gathered that not less than 300 licenses have been received by the ASECO in readiness for the Tin Can Chapter elections alone, but it was learnt that many of them were cloned, while some did not meet ASECO requirements.
It would be recalled that members of the Tin Can Chapter had accused the Association Electoral Commission (ASECO) led by Alhaji Babatunde Mukaila and the Western Zone Coordinator, ?Sir John Ofobike of plans to rig the elections. They both denied the allegations.
?Some frontline members of the chapter had equally threatened to form a parallel government if the Association’s Electoral Commission (ASECO) disqualified any candidate who is qualified to contest. 
?The warning was issued at the flag- off of the campaign rally of one of the aspirants, Mr Ojo Peter Akintoye by a former Zonal Coordinator West of ANLCA, Prince Ozo Chukwura.
Also, Secretary; Board of Trustee (BoT) of ANLCA, Prince Taye Oyeniyi has assured that no qualified candidates would be disqualified. “Your vote will count and we want you to be assured that no one will be disqualified unjustly. ANLCA has come to stay and we are one big family."He continued, "The BoT will not play politics with anyone, if your papers are complete, no one will disqualify you," he assured.