Crisis hits ANLCA as association is polarised over Chapters elections

By ZION Olalekan

There are indications that the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) may have been thrown into yet another leadership crisis as five chapters are set to go to the polls in December 2018.

The Western Zone chapters due for election include; Seme, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, PTML, Apapa and Kirikiri chapters.

Investigations by nigeriamaritime360.com show that the leadership of the association have been thrown into internal crisis and fault- finding. The genesis of the crisis is however traceable to the crisis in the leadership of the Board of Trustees of ANLCA.

While a faction is headed by Chief Henry Njokwu who has been in the saddle for ten years, another faction is led by Alhaji Taiwo Mustapha.

Though the National Executive headed by Tony Nwabunike has said that it does not recognize Alhaji Taiwo Mustapha as chairman of BOT, the Western Zone headed by Sir John Oforbike last week directed members of the zone to disregard Henry Njokwu as chairman.

Speaking after a recent meeting of the Western Zone at the Villa Park Hotel in Festac, Lagos, a member of the Board of Trustees, Prince Taiye Oyeniyi alleged that ANLCA President, Tony Nwabunike is incommunicado and this has thrown the association into disarray.

According to him, part of the resolutions of the meeting was that only Alhaji Taiwo Mustapha should be recognised as Chairman of BOT and that it is the board that would conduct the coming elections.

Also speaking, Zonal Coordinator West, John Oforbike said any instruction given by the former BOT headed by Henry Njokwu regarding the coming election should be disregarded.

Oforbike who controls nine chapters out of seventeen in the association also alleged that the Vice President, Kayode Farinto has been “poke- nosing” in the affairs of the Tin Can chapter where he was former chairman.

Speaking, he said, “Whenever there is election, it is the duty of the board to conduct it, every other person, the President and the Vice should keep off, it is only the zone that can be called as an observer.

“We have told the Vice President to stop going from chapter to chapter on the guise that he is solving a problem, he is not the vice president of Tin Can but of the whole ANLCA, he has been in Tin Can more than four times.

“He should act everywhere, he should go to the East, Calabar and Kano to solve problems, and he should allow the Zonal coordinator to do his job”.

However, the Vice President while reacting to the allegations said that the Pro-Mustapha group are gripped by ‘fear of the unknown’ and that they are being mischievous.

Farinto described Tin Can port as a volatile chapter, saying that the national Secretariat would not wait for issues to degenerate before rising up to address them.

He accused the Tin Can chapter executives of protecting the Customs CAC against ANLCA members, especially on the Benchmark controversy that hit the chapter recently.

He gave instances where he had solved major problems facing ANLCA members at PTML, Eastern Port, FOU zone A among others, saying that the allegations against him are baseless and mischievous.

“Tin Can is a very volatile area and we would not allow it to degenerate, we have people in ANLCA who recently lost power under ECO and they feel the national wants to control them, but I as a Vice President and acting president, would not allow their ineptitudes to cause crisis in ANLCA.

“Because election is very near now, there is apprehension; some people believe that because they did not support us during our election, it is the fear of the unknown.

“As far as I am the Vice President of ANLCA, there is nothing like BOT in our constitution, so I am not interested in their Mustapha as BOT Chair, I don’t recognize him”.