The National Secretary of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Mr. Babatunde Mukaila, has given reasons the association’s Board of Trustees (BoT) is yet to have a Chairman despite concluding elections into the board about three months ago in Owerri, Imo state.
Recall that the association had elected nine members into its board last December, which includes the Vice Chairman of SIFAX Group, Barr Taiwo Afolabi.
However, three months after the election checks by Shipping Position Daily, revealed that the new board members are yet to be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), even as they are also yet to conduct an election as to who becomes the chairman of the board, raising fears that the new board may be constrained to do so, due to several court cases regarding the election of the new board and the position of the former board.
But, speaking to our correspondent as to why the new board is yet to be registered with the CAC; Babatunde Mukaila informed that registration of the new board is ongoing, despite the counter claim by the other board, he assured that the new board will be registered very soon.
According to him, “the registration is ongoing, you are aware of an advertorial, and a counter claim by Taiye Oyeniyi, but what they did not realize is that, when you place an advert to register a new trustee, the counter must come 28 days and an advert was placed on the 31st of December of the year 2020, so we now placed another advert for the information of the general public; which we did in February and that was the one they reacted to, the 28 days is gone in January. So I can assure you that the process of registration is ongoing, as long as it is not a wait and get thing, so the process is ongoing”.
As to why the board is yet to elect a chairman, he informed that ANLCA constitution forbids chairmanship of the board, stating that electing a chairman among the board members is an internal affair arranged for administrative purpose. He stated that the board can decide to have a chairman if they so wish or decide to be without a board chair.
He further informed that the board is only expected to meet three times in a year, stating that in the next one week the time table for the sitting of the new board will be released. He stressed that any of the board members who fail to attend two of the meeting is tantamount to dismissal.
In his words: “The constitution of ANLCA forbids chairmanship of board or the secretary of board, you cannot see in the constitution where anybody is allocated to a particular office as BoT, they just did that for administrative and conveniences purpose for themselves, they can decide that they want to pick a leader who will speak for them anytime they are going somewhere and if anything goes wrong they can now present to the association and say we don’t want this man to represent us again when we go out”
“And the constitution provides for three sitting for the BoT in a year, this is March, I want to assure you that in the next one week you are going to see the timetable of the sitting of our board, it’s so important that any board member that did not attend at least two meetings in a year is tantamount to dismissal from the board
“So, the board is not supposed to be everyday administrative gathering, they are supposed to sit three times in a year for the NECOM to come and present what they have achieved in the year, because their job is to take custody, that’s why they are trustees, they hold our properties in trust. But now, if the President puts his leg here, they also want to put their legs on the other side and that has been the bane, but if they decide to go the way of the former board, then they can pick a chairman that will emerge among them”, he said.
