Customs Agents Disown Association’s Caretaker Committee Over Lack Of Licence

The National Executive Committee (NECOM), of the Association of Nigerian Licenced Customs Agents (ANLCA), has disregarded the interim executive members appointed by the self acclaimed registered Board of Trustees (BoT), of the association as fake.

According to the national secretary of the association, Babatunde Mukaila, in a press statement made available to LEADERSHIP,  the appointed interim executive members are non-members of the association because they don’t posses valid Customs licence to be a member of the association.

Mukaila said, the acting national president, Pius Ujubuonu; acting national vice president; Adeyinka Isola; acting financial secretary, Waheed Badmus and acting national publicity secretary, Francis Itua were non-licence owners, hence, cannot be members of ANLCA.

He said: “there have been a lot of falsehood, fake news and to put it in a very straight perspective, i believe some ANLCA members who have served at the highest level should know better and be conversant with the association’s constitution. 

“I believe Taiwo Mustapha who has consistently claimed to be whatever he says he is should be abreast with the provisions of ANLCA Constitution. I will go straight to when Mustapha breaks into the National Secretariat to say he appointed interim NECOM. The constitution of ANLCA is very clear under Section 4, that members of ANLCA shall be limited by Corporate companies, notwithstanding Sub-section (1) and under Section ( 2).

“It went further to say that no company or firm shall be registered as a member of ANLCA if Section ( 4), subsection (2a) does not carry on business in the Shipping and Freight Forwarding (b) if not Licensed by the Nigeria  Customs. I see it as a mischief or lack of knowledge on the part of Taiwo Mustapha to have violate the ANLCA constitution by appointing people who do not have corporate Company Licenses  by the Customs to positions at the national level.

“Sometimes, I think it was 24th August, 2022, that Taiwo Mustapha came into ANLCA National Secretariat and appointed some people who are not owners of Corporate companies and who are not registered  to carry out business of Shipping and Freight Forwarding as enshrined in ANLCA Constitution into positions of authority, I believe Taiwo Mustapha should have known  better  to make such grievous mistakes and cause confusion that we are all seeing now.”

He, however, stated that, only company owners of representatives are entitled to attend the Annual General Meeting of the association.

“Our AGM is supposed to be govern by general  members, those Companies who are corporate members of ANLCA. So is not a new thing as you rightly said but it’s just that the company owners that should come forward and participate in the AGM and the representatives of those companies ought to be directors who must have had this with at least 10 per shareholding structure with five years running and whose membership status must as well be five years with ANLCA.

“If you are a member of ANLCA, it is automatic for members to attend the AGM as the director of his/company whose license is valid one and as well paid their dues up to date. I want to believe anybody raising eyebrow dosen’t have a license or not financially up to date as members of the association,” he added.