‘No Leadership Change In Customs Agents Association’

The purportedly dissolved National Executive Committee (NECOM), of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), has fired back, saying there is no parallel executives or leadership change in the association.

Acting president of the association, Kayode Farinto, stated that the association’s secretariat was forcefully broken into while the executives were on national assignment to the Lekki Deep seaport.

Farinto described the activities that took place at the national secretariat as the handiworks of expelled members who refused to leave after being expelled by the National Executives Committee (NEC).

The acting national president also bemoaned the attitude of the commissioner of Police, Lagos state to the crisis rocking the association.

Farinto noted that the Commissioner is culpable and need to explain his role in the association crisis.

According to him, “What you are seeing in ANLCA is a political shenanigans by aggrieved old men who refused to leave the association after being expelled. These are expelled members of our former board, they are no more members of ANLCA for now and unfortunately we were on national assignment when we learnt that they have encroached into the national secretariat and forcefully taking over the secretariat breaking the padlocks and keys.

“The interesting thing is that we have Police on guard in that place so we want to know the reason, we want to know whether the police are culpable because this is a surprise to me.

“But there is nothing to worry about, the expelled members are not members of ANLCA and it is not me that expelled them, it was NEC, I don’t know why a part of the body will say it doesn’t belong to the body. It’s unfortunate that the West has been like this, but I can assure you that this will be the last war as we will root out these people who refuse to leave.

“A man of 75years parading himself as a member of the board, what’s he looking for, he has spent 12 years on the board as at the time his tenure expired, but tomorrow we are taking over our secretariat.”

When asked what could be the reason behind the expelled members action, he said “Their actions may be a result of so many factors, but instead of them writing a letter of apology to NEC so that NEC can consider their position, they want to come in through the backdoor.

“Even NURTW is more civilised than the way these old men have taken ANLCA. I feel pained within me to see a professional association where hoodlums and old men just bring in thugs to take over our secretariat. That is why I said the police is culpable, particularly the commissioner of police for Lagos. He needs to give alot of explanation as to his role in the crisis of ANLCA.

“We got an approval from the Inspector General of Police, the other time for him to whisk away these men, he played to the gallery, he never did. Only for him to receive a letter from an expelled body that they should be given security, it’s very very unfortunate,” he said.

On his part the National secretary of the association, Babatunde Mukaila, also informed that the association was not aware of any written letter for the expelled members to use the secretariat not until the NECOM were enroute the Lekki Deep seaport.

He said he got the letter sent by the station officer signed by one of the expelled members seeking permission to use the secretariat for a meeting.

He however said the letter was signed by one of the expelled members of the association.