The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has directed all its officials at all levels not to have anything to do with Nigeria’s first maritime daily newspaper; Shipping Position Daily, even as it ordered the media outfit to stay away from all the association’s activities, henceforth.
In an unprecedented action in the more-than 60 years old association, its national publicity secretary; Mr Kayode Farinto directed all the association’s organs not to have thing to do with the newspaper.
The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has directed all its officials at all levels not to have anything to do with Nigeria’s first maritime daily newspaper; Shipping Position Daily, even as it ordered the media outfit to stay away from all the association’s activities, henceforth.
In an unprecedented action in the more-than 60 years old association, its national publicity secretary; Mr Kayode Farinto directed all the association’s organs not to have thing to do with the newspaper.
Surprisingly, the letter was silent on the newspaper’s sister product; Shipping Position Live, which runs on Star FM in Lagos.
Prior to the June 2, 2015 controversial letter, there had been attempts by the association’s national publicity secretary (NPS); Farinto Kayode to interfere with the newspaper’s professional positions on certain issues which he considered to be inimical to the interest of ANLCA.
Confirming the above and also betraying the real motive behind his position, the ANLCA image maker who was only elected only a few months ago, in the letter which was sent to about 70 recipients at the national headquarters, zones and chapters acknowledged that all efforts to make Shipping Position Daily “see reasons have failed”.
“The Shipping Position Newspaper is not portraying ANLCA's image well, all efforts to make them see reasons have proven abortive, hence our Executive members are advised not to speak to press on policy matters or national issues, such issues should be directed to the National President or the National Publicity Secretary, in order that, we would not be seen to be talking at variance”, he wrote.
He also asserted that: “For now shipping position will be blacklisted in ANLCA fora, (chapter PRO should also implement this at the chapter level).”
However, more than 50 per cent of the recipients of the letter have condemned the association’s spokesperson, accusing him of painting ANLCA in bad light and taking on the media in clear violation of his mandate as the association’s spokesperson.
Apparently because of the sensitive nature of the development, senior members of the association who spoke with our correspondents and who pleaded anonymity, described Farinto’s action as not only unilateral and counterproductive, but one that is likely to rub-off negatively on the association’s image.
A national executive committee member pointedly said: “How the NPS bar a media house, isn’t this similar to what media aides of President Muhammadu Buhari did with AIT and it backfired”.
Similarly, an executive in one of the chapters in Lagos stated that the national spokesperson of ANLCA went beyond his brief, and added that “he can not tell us what to do at our chapter and which media house to relate with”, even as he noted that, “what he (Farinto) did is unacceptable and a demonstration of the fact that he does not really understand his job as NPS”.
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