BY CHINONYE ANYATONWU.
The Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has stated the association readiness to organize an Annual General Meeting (AGM) for selection of new members into the Board as BOT tenure had since been elapsed.
The tenure of the present board members who were elected in 2014 at Warri, Delta state were believed that Tony Nwabunike have created a strong opposition against himself after the election that brought him into office when he decided to accommodate everybody to have a unified body.
While addressing news men on the state of the association affairs at the National Secretariat of the association in Lagos, he said the NECOM had resolved to conduct AGM/BOT election which includes sales of form for interested members to elect new BOT members who would add value to the association and its members.
According to Nwabunike, the association would have held its AGM long ago, but for Covid -19 pandemic,the six years tenure of the board under which Alhaji Taiwo Mustapha served has since ended in February this year . He said that if Mustapha and others were interested in continuing in office,they should be ready to contest like every other person noting that in ANLCA , tribe is not a considerator for winning but on merit, added that rotation of leadership among the tribes in Nigeria is unknown to the constitution of the association while pointing out that his NECOM consist of different tribes.
“There is no tribalism in ANLCA, many of my executives are Yoruba’s, when sir Ernest Elochukwu was the president, Chief Henry Njoku was the BOT chairman,nobody complained, when my predecessor, Prince Olayiwola Shittu was president, Taiwo Mustapha was the BOT coordinator for over a year, nobody complained, why all these fuss over who occupies BOT chairmanship”, he queried.
According to him, ANLCA had nine former Board members, four of who voluntarily stepped down from office after the expiration of its tenure in February while other five had continued to still carry themselves as the BOT members calling for tenure elongation.
He therefore accused Mustapha and others of working with some chapter chairman in the Western Zone to derail the efforts of the association, describing the election that brought the chairman as illegal, adding that once the NECOM meeting holds, there will be a new election in the zone.
Nwabunike disclosed that over three persons have already collected nomination forms for the BOT elections slated to hold before the end of the year, and that the likes of Taiwo Mustapha, Dennis Okafor, Taiye Oyeniyi and other feuding members could pick nomination form to participate in the fourth coming elections.
He then vow his administration would remain focus despite all set back from other group, he said he was no longer going to tolerate any further insurrection from the Mustapha Taiwo ‘ s group , recalled that the election that brought in Mustapha and his group was held a day to his inauguration as the president without his knowledge.
” I was not comfortable with the Board holding elections on the eve of my inauguration, don’t forget that I am also a member of the Board before I won the election and I never know they did election until after my inauguration.
Also speaking, the vice president of ANLCA, Dr. Farinto Kayode blamed the immediate past National President, Prince Olayiwola Shittu for the crisis in the association .
He accused Shittu of fueling the crisis, adding that all his lieutenants are the ones trying from day -1 to ensure that the present NECOM never enjoy their government.
It will be recalled that some weeks ago, some members of the association were arrested along with other hoodlums who had invaded the association secretariat.
They attacked the secretariat with arms including A-K 47 riffle, other weapons and charms.
