The newly elected executives of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents’ (ANLCA) Tin-Can Port, Ikorodu Lighter Terminal and Idiroko Border chapters were sworn into office last Thursday.
Election was conducted for the chairmanship and treasurer positions of the Idiroko chapter at the ANLCA National Secretariat few hours before the inauguration ceremony with Elder Abel Ayokunle, and Alhaji Dauda Omideyi reelected the chapter’s Chairman and Treasurer respectively.
Prior to the inauguration ceremony, Chairman of the Association Electoral Commission, Alhaji Abdulazeez Babatunde Mukaila, gave a verbal report of the conduct of the election of the various chapters where elections were inconclusive, after which he presented hard copies of the report to the ANLCA Board of Trustees (BOT) – represented by member Sunday Odedeji, who in turn presented it to the ANLCA National President, Prince Olayiwola Shittu.
The submission of the report signalled its endorsement by the ANLCA BOT, its acceptance by the ANLCA National Secretariat and the go-ahead for the swearing into office of the newly elected executives.
The inauguration ceremony commenced with the executives swearing oaths of allegiance to their offices after which the ANLCA National President, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, presented them their Certificates of Return.
The ANLCA boss said that the ceremony was the “final hurdle of legality” that establishes the executives into office.
He said: “Times without number I have been warning on the dangers of godfathers hijacking the processes of this association. We had unique godfathers in our association. Godfathers in our association don’t give, they take! They ask the candidates to bring huge sums of money and then go ahead to bulldoze their way to make sure that once that candidate is elected he becomes a slave to the godfather. We said, no! Let people freely choose who their leader is and we thank God that our efforts are yielding results because this election no matter all the hiccups that is envisaged produced credible people that will be in tune and align with the vision of making ANLCA a truly professional organization.”
He however urged the new chapter executives to imbibe the spirit of team work warning that the he will not hesitate to apply the disciplinary powers provided by the ANLCA constitution if they step out of line.
He also spoke on the aspersions cast over the leadership of the association in view of the recently held elections even as he noted that the association will stand up to anybody who threatens it with legal action.
“Our constitution is very clear. If you have exhausted internal mechanisms for conflict you are at liberty to seek redress in court. Court is meant for human beings not for animals. We are not afraid to go to court. When we came on board, there were eight existing court cases against ANLCA and we followed it up with the able support of our national legal adviser, Barrister Chekwube Osonwa, and all the cases fizzled out, some were abandoned, some were struck out! And we took it on ourselves that anybody who likes to go to court, provided what we are doing is right, we will be ready to go to court. We will not take issues on a personal level because that is what they are provoking us to do but we shall be focused”, the ANLCA boss stated.
Meanwhile the embattled former Chairman of the Tin Can Chapter, Prince Kayode Farinto, who was barred by the ANLCA ASECO from seeking re-election, had threatened to take his case to the temple of justice.
On the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony, Shittu presented a cheque of one million naira as benefit under the association’s insurance scheme to the family of its deceased member, Late Vincent Gontur, who operated at the Seme Border chapter before his death.
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