In the concluding part of our close-up on the key gladiators in the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents’ crises, Oluyinka Onigbinde speaks with another Chieftain; Chief John Oforbike. He pours out his mind on certain issues fuelling the protracted crises which have defied all efforts all remedies.
Why do you think the AGM did not hold?
I have been in ANLCA politics for long and today, I will never deny ANLCA. ANLCA propelled me. I became a two-time chairman of Apapa port and also a two-time Zonal Coordinator in a Yoruba-dominated area. I was accepted by all. So, the election that took place at Enugu brought me in as a Zonal coordinator and for four years, we have encountered troubles, because of the type of leadership we had. After the four years expired on the 16th of April last year, somebody is still holding on; saying he has extended his tenure by an extra one year. Even in Banana Republic, it doesn’t happen. Are we in Zimbabwe where Mugabe will be in power, amend the constitution and continue to rule himself? Are we in Cameroon? It is not so. ANLCA is an established association with a constitution that rules it. You cannot say because you didn’t do well you have to extend it. Tony Iju and co know they did not do well. They cannot go for a second term if it happens. So, what they did is to divide ANLCA to go to Port Harcourt and say some people were expelled. They now said they want to amend the constitution and bench us for life. They raised up their hands saying they expunged some parts of the constitution. Is that how to amend the constitution? They amended the constitution which we opposed. We were not part of it. Now everybody knows that ANLCA is in crisis. It is not hidden. There is no gain hiding it. It is pure.
Let me say this. Go and find anywhere, you can never hear my name mentioned in any court of law that I have taken ANLCA or any member to court. I have been very careful. I have been preaching peace, but the likes of Farinto, Mukaila and Henry Njoku that came from nowhere want rancor because they have failed in their first tenure. They went to amend the Constitution; they are now saying this and that. The matter remains that we were sworn-in with the 2008 constitution. You cannot amend the constitution when there is a crisis and a faction. It is that same constitution they have been using since they swore them in. Now in the first place, who is supposed to call AGM at a time like this? It is the board. Under section 13C, you would see the functions and duties of the board. When there is crisis, and there is no election, the board takes over. Was Farinto and Mukaila elected as a member of the NECOM? They are now calling themselves NECOM. How? Everything must have an expiring date. Our days as NECOM has expired. Then we need to go and prepare for election. You cannot be the one to conduct elections. It is the duty of the board. Now the Police have gone left and right and said the secretariat has been opened for both parties and they don’t want to see any problem again. They went in there and they called us. We had a meeting and the people said we have suffered so much, but have a point to meet. They called Elochukwu from our own side and Taiye Oyeniyi. They also called Farinto, Ozo Chukwura and others at the other side. They came for a meeting and it was agreed there and there that peace should reign. It was agreed that our group should bring three members and they are going to bring two members to form ASECO. It is the duty of the board to supervise the election. It was agreed there that after we have formed ASECO, then we would now go for an AGM. We were going to nominate people and prepare a ground for AGM. If you are going to toilet, do you wash your anus before going or after you are done? It is after you have finished stooling you wash your anus. If there is going to be an AGM, there are so many things involved in an AGM. We agreed that we are going to nominate people, which people are you going to bring to anchor the AGM? When they come into that place, they were talking about their board. We said No, we are the registered board. You can bring four people to join our five people to make it nine which they agreed. They were going to Corporate Affairs Commission at Abuja to know who the authentic board is. They said the two groups should bring money to the Police. They now went away. The Police discovered that these people are not straight forward. The Police has written letters to Abuja waiting for the Corporate Affairs Commission to reply. It is government-to-government. Now, Farinto went ahead and said they wanted to have AGM. None of our members was informed. Did Farinto have any rights to call an AGM? There’s no NECOM in place. That is the bloody truth. Because Farinto is blinded with his ambition, he wants to be the president. Do you want to be the president of nobody? Let there be peace. When there is a general peace then anybody can start anything. If you stand up to impregnate a woman, that woman can likely give birth to an imbecile or a cripple person. That is an Igbo adage. If you go with pepper to where they are treating “Apolo” will it work?
We heard that there was a peace accord, what happened to the agreement?
So, they are contravening the peace agreement. Everything they are doing here is against the peace agreement. He said if it is own jurisdiction in Festac here, he will never allow that meeting to hold from there he called the commissioner of Police who later called the Commander in charge of Ikeja to stop that AGM. The CRFFN wrote them that they should wait. Because CRFFN has called us for a meeting and we have submitted our report since August. Farinto and Co held on to that report. Maybe because it didn’t favour them. The person who is causing the problem in ANLCA is Henry Njoku and he connived with Farinto who has an inordinate and blind ambition to become the President; president of all on one side? You can see the facts. You can verify what I am telling you and he will never earn it in life. There is a gentleman agreement that after the major tribe; Yoruba rules for eight years, it is the turn of an Igbo man to rule for another eight years. Tony Iju knows he cannot win re-election. He went with Henry Njoku and co to amend the constitution and make it one tenure, because he cannot come again and Farinto was thinking that after one tenure, he cannot contest the position he has contested. He wants to migrate to be the President and he is moving from one place telling people to support him. Can Farinto be the President of ANLCA and bring peace? He can’t, he is a rattlesnake. He insulted everybody. He is blind with his ambition. I told him to put God first in whatever he is doing. If he does not put God first, and he puts himself before God, he is going to be crippled. I told him that power belongs to God through people. He should submit himself unto God and not to be so fast because he wants to answer the name “Mister President”. This is the practical truth and you can find out.
When will the election hold?
We would have gone to hold an election by the board, but the board doesn’t want to hold an election from one side. They want to have general peace and it is the constitutional right of the board to conduct elections. That is why the Police want to find out who the authentic board is. We are still waiting for that. When there are crises, the board takes over. Farinto who is calling AGM, which NECOM does he have in place to call AGM? He is saying he has extended his tenure and his tenure will expire by April, for that reason he wants to call an AGM and conduct an election. You are not talking to fools. If a bird that is supposed to peach on a tree peaches on a rope, the bird will be dancing, that is where Farinto is going. Until he drops his ambition, you cannot be a Judge in your own case. You cannot be the one to destroy and rebuild. He has destroyed it, let him allow others to build it. There are so many injuries and so many people who are feeling bad about it. Let him stay by the side and throw in his ambition. It is not even the turn of a Yoruba man. The Yorubas have taken the West; it is the turn of an Igbo man to complete their eight years. They used “roforofo” to spoil Tony Iju’s tenure. Farinto was part of it to make it look like the man cannot come back. That is what they plan. Now they want to come back after destroying the tenure of Tony Iju. He wants to become President, is it possible? It is not even the turn of a Yoruba man, it is the turn of an Igbo man. An Igbo man can come from the north, east or west to contest as far as he is an Igbo man. Farinto should bury his ambition for peace to reign.
We also learnt that the two factions have agreed to sheath their swords and to take in part of their board into your board?
Our constitution says nine board members. What caused the crisis was the person who went to court to say the board that conducted our election was not registered and you cannot place something on nothing. You have to register before becoming a Chairman. They went to register and the law says it is when you get registered that your tenure will start running. That is where the crisis came from. They are the one that went to court. Now the board has been registered. Now your own is not registered because you went through the back door and they withdrew it. Then we agreed to get four people at the AGM from their own side who will now be elected to be part of this board, so that they will continue from there. It is even only two or one person that is going to join because Henry Njoku and Peter Obih are members of this board. They are registered in Abuja. It is only two people that they are going to bring. If we go to our next meeting and Henry Njoku and Peter Obih says they are no longer members of this board, then they will now elect four people to make it complete. That is how it is supposed to be.
What are your thoughts concerning allegations that Prince Taiye Oyeniyi has served his tenure?
Which tenure? Is it not this tenure that they are dragging that they went to register? I told you this people were elected in Warri. They would have gone quietly when their time comes, but because they elected the Chairman of the board when they removed Henry Njoku, then Peter Obih went to court and it was discovered that this board was not registered and they insisted that it must be registered. They later discovered that it was registered and they took it to court. The Judge said if they have not formalized their registration with Corporate Affairs Commission, they are not yet a board. For this reason, you cannot even answer as Chairman talk-less of being a member of the board, because you are not registered and cannot place something on nothing. The people now went to CAC and they discovered that the board has not been registered since 2001. They had to pay all the dues and register everyone that conducted election. Only Tony Iju who was to contest election as a President was not registered. They registered all of them including Peter Obih and Henry Njoku. These people insisted that when they registered is when their tenure starts running. Just like Oyetola in Osun state, his tenure will not start running until they settle in Court. This is what the Law says, even at the CAC. Those talking about Taiye Oyeniyi are just causing problems. He has not served out his tenure. If no one has gone to court then they would have all served out their tenure and we would have a new board. But because they went and register and when they register is when their tenure will start running. That is where the matter lies.
Are you not worried that that ANLCA is dying?
I went to a meeting at the office of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, they brought their own lawyer. We heard them. The man said litigation will never bring peace to this association unless we give and take. The man cited an example of PMAN which was very successful and a big umbrella but we do not hear about them again. They died because they went on litigation-upon-litigation and when the last man won, there was no more PMAN for him to rule upon. The man gave all these instances and told ANLCA that it would die a natural death because members are joining other groups because ANLCA is not the only association and we can now see it. It has empowered NAGAFF. Can you imagine NAGAFF? and Farinto is not seeing that. He wants to be the President of ANLCA, even if he is the only one ruling. It is not done like that. The CRFFN wanted to do something but Farinto and Henry Njoku held on to them, intimidating them. But we have told them not to be a toothless bulldog and let the Chairman of CRFFN, AlhajiAbubakar Tsanni not be a barber chair that can be tossed to and fro. He should do the needful and publish the report and make their findings known and take action. We are under them. They are the one regulating us. They cannot leave us in crisis. If they are true regulators and they are not taking sides, they should come out with something and let this crisis end. If it involves suspending or banning some people from conducting elections for now, let it be. I am grateful to ANLCA. Under ANLCA, I have been able to go places which I don’t know I would have been. I will be the last person, let it be a curse to my generation to see that I destroyed ANLCA. I have never been part of destruction. I’ve been preaching peace. Check the records. The whole thing is being engineered by Henry Njoku the Emperor. He wants to be everywhere. For 28 years, Henry Njoku has never done anything asides ANLCA politics.
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