• Two Factional Presidents Lay Claim To Power
What started recently as a mere internal wrangling within the top echelon of the Importers Association of Nigeria (IMAN) last week snowballed into a festering sore with two senior members of the group laying claims to its presidency.
The two factions coincidentally held separate meetings in both Lagos and Abuja where they took ‘far-reaching’ decisions and where the founder and president general of the association, Chief Onuchukwu James Clark who led a group in Lagos allegedly ratified the expulsion of the trio of chief Gilbert Obi, Chief Emmanuel Osita Okereke and Mr Kingsley Chikezie.
Incidentally, Chief Okereke is one of the subjects of the parallel meeting which held simultaneously in Abuja. A copy of the meeting’s resolution which was sighted by our correspondent in Lagos last week roundly commended what it called the “giant strides taken and the successes recorded so far within the shortest period given the bureaucratic bottlenecks, logistics and time constraints”.
The meeting also extended the three months interim administration of chief Okereke by 12 months and curiously said that it approved the replacement of the chairman of the National Task Force on Combating Importation of Goods Small arms, Ammunitions and Light Weapons, Major General Ikherie (rtd) with Mr EdwinTokmor (a retired Commissioner of Police) who was previously the vice chairman of the National Task Force. Other members of the Task Force were allegedly replaced at the Abuja meeting.
The contentious resolution was signed by both chief Gilbert Obi (as chairman Board of Trustees) and Mr Kingsley Chikezie as Secretary to the Board.
But, apparently dissatisfied with the turn of events, chief Onuchukwu last week issued a press statement in which he announced that the board and leaders of the association ratified the alleged expulsion of the three officers from IMAN for what he alleged as “ their indictment by the caretaker committee set up by the leadership of the association to look into allegations leveled against them which included unauthorized purchase of over N275 Million vehicles, bunkering pipeline vandalisation and impersonation of the office of the founder and president general of the association”.
Shipping Position Weekly learnt last week that the developments which culminated into the claims and counter-claims are not unconnected with the soaring profile of the association; especially its recognition by the federal government as an important factor in its battle to stem the tide of importation of lethal items into the country.
The IMAN which started off as a small idea from some concerned stakeholders in the shipping (especially importing sub-sector) was pioneered by Chief Onuchukwu James, who our correspondent learnt spearheaded a memo to the Presidency which eventually led to the formation of the Task Force.
A curious dimension was added on Friday when Mr Chikezie whose name had appeared as the secretary BoT and whose name also appeared on the list of those who have been allegedly expelled dissociated himself from the two factions. He equally claimed ignorance of the purported meetings in Abuja and Lagos.
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