Strong Criticism Greets CRFFN Intervention in ANLCA Crisis

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The Registered Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) as well as a large number of the association members have rejected the resolution issued by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) which directed ANLCA former Vice President, Kayode Farinto to call for an immediate Annual General Meeting (AGM) latest by the first week of March, 2023 at Oriental Hotel, Lagos.

Chairman of CRFFN, Alhaji Tsanni Abubakar, in a press statement signed by the Chairman, Committee on Media and Publicity of the Council, Mr Muftahu Ya”u on Sunday, favoured Kayode Farinto’s faction of ANLCA to call for the AGM, even though the tenure of Farinto and his National Executive Committee (NECOM) ended in April 2022.

The stakeholders described this move as a major error that would further fuel the five years old crisis in ANLCA, even as they accused the CRFFN Chairman of having been compromised and obviously being teleguided by two interested parties in the crisis; Mr Kayode Farinto and Chief Henry Njoku who belonged to the NECOM faction and are both on the governing board of the CRFFN.

A statement issued by the Acting National Publicity Secretary of ANLCA, Mr Francis Itua noted that in August 2022, the chairman of CRFFN Alhaji Tsani Abubakar in his wisdom constituted a committee to mediate on the ANLCA crisis and promised to release the report within 7days which was greeted with a loud of applause from all stakeholders from both parties.

“However, 6 months to the constitution of the intervention committee chaired by Alhaji Abba Yusuf, the report was alledgedly suppressed by the duo of Henry Njoku and Kayode farinto both members and perpetrators of the ANLCA crisis and also Vice President and member of CRFFN board respectively.

“For several month we have a feelers that as long as Henry Njoku being the vice chairman of Crrfn and Kayode farinto Board member, the report will never see the light of day, true to various predictions, the report of the chairman CRFFN promised to release within 7days took more then 7months to cooked a resolution. not even the report as promised within 7days. We agreed this is your resolution, probably to suit the whims and caprice of Henry Njoku, but we need the report as presided over by Alhaji Abba Yusuf to be released.

“We in ANLCA view this resolution of CRFFN. As a total failure and managerial blonder of the governing Board, and the Chaiman Alhaji Tsani Abubakar’s failure respectively, which will not be acceptable by all sane beings and also a departure from the pledge last year to resolve the ANLCA crisis.

“On the other hand, we are highly disappointed that the CRFFN does not take congnisance of the following before their biased concocted resolution.

(1). That there are 7 active members of the board duly elected and recognized by CAC.as such nobody can remove them except in accordance to the ANLCA suprême constitution 2008 as amended
(2). Police has written CAC to advice her who among the Board of trustees is active which report is expected any moment.
(3). That the Alhaji Afolabi Led group are emesshed in fraudulent judgements, forgery and impersonation at the CAC, while there are two pending court cases unresolved.

(4). That the CRFFN Have no legal right to dissolve a registered Board under any guise.

(5). By our constitution, the tenure of the president, and the acting president expired since on the 16th of April 2022 and as such the president nor the acting president have no right to call for an AGM meeting, it’s the right and duty of the Board in this circumstance to call for an AGM meeting

(6). Also It is the duties of the association electoral Committee to conduct election into any electable position, therefore the Board can not be selected at the AGM as conversed by the CRFFN.

(7). It is the duties of the BOARD to appoint ASECO the Association electoral committee and not the president, nor at the AGM. At the same time it is the duty of the Board to supervise all elections in the association.

(8). There are two vacant position at the Board, therefore the CRFFN resolution is wrong for the proposed appointment of four members from each faction to form the board, while 7active member duly recongnized by the CAC are active.

“Finally, we the member of Association of Nigerian license customs Agents under the leadership of Alhaji Taiwo Mustapha totally reject this concocted resolution of CRFFN under the chairmanship of Alhaji Tsanni Abubakar and and vice chairmanship of Henry Njoku for the following reasons.

“It is unfair to adjudicate on a matter one has substantial interest on like Henry Njoku and Kayode Farinto being member of the Board of CRFFN. And board member and acting president of anlca that took the resolution without stepping down for equity sake.
Also the crffn as a party to the police reconciliation, should have wait for the police report, also
Non recognition of the power of number of existing board 5 against 2

“We saw this resolution as a further call for anarchy in anlca. However, The Chairman Board of Trustee Alhaji Taiwo Mustapha is appealing to all our teaming members to exercise restraint and be law abiding to wait for the out come of the various reconciliation committee including the court.

Another stakeholder and former member of ANLCA, Chidi Anthony Opara in a circulated statement tagged “Issues Arising From The CRFFN Ordered ANLCA AGM” said that a close look at the CRFFN order have thrown up a number of serious issues, which if not looked into and resolved, would become problematic, rendering whatever may be achieved at the AGM a nullity.

Opara, a former ANLCA National Officer and former member of CRFFN’s Freight Forwarders Consultative Forum said;

“(1) The CRFFN asked the two factions to nominate four persons each to be ratified at the AGM as trustees. The ninth person, according to CRFFN would be elected at the AGM. Now this supposes that there is no ANLCA registered Board of Trustees (BOT) at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). If there is, owing to the fact that a faction is claiming to be the registered BOT, this board would be willing to resign, if not, how does CRFFN hope to reconcile this situation at the CAC after the AGM, when the necessity for documentation arises?

“(2) Since CRFFN is asking a warring faction to call the AGM, would that fraction also chair and record proceedings at the AGM? If this is the case, would the other faction accept the outcome of an AGM called, chaired and its proceedings recorded by its rivals? Would individual stakeholders, governmental and non governmental organizations willingly accept the outcome of such AGM?

“(3) Regulation provides that the Annual General Meetings of accredited associations must be observed by CRFFN(management) officials, so what would be the legitimacy of an Annual General Meeting observed by an “Acting Registrar” or officials assigned by that position, a position not known to the CRFFN establishment act.

The CRFFN should do well to resolve the above-mentioned issues prior to the AGM.

Also in his reaction, a member of ANLCA in the Western Zone, Mr Olumide Fakanlu said the CRFFN was a fraudulent creation that has no basis in the maritime industry but just a corruption vessel as obtainable ONLY in Nigeria presently.

Fakanlu vented his opinion on a platform, MARITIME Elders, monitored by DAILY TREND, even as he queried “Is the present Chairman of the Council a freight forwarder as provided in the useless act? If when the professional freight forwarder was chairman of the Council, nothing was achieved for the industry but only individual benefits for the council members.

“These, their resolutions can be said to be another fraud as where the Council derives the power to dissolve a constitutional body without reference to law that established the body. Again, why Farinto, a party to the prevailing crisis should be the organizer of the so called AGM”

Reacting on the same issue, another member, Barrister Chekube Osonwa said that by this resolution
CRFFN has lost its relevance if any is remaining.

1. How can CRFFN direct Farinto to convene a meeting when his tenure expired since April 2022.
2. What happens to the registered trustees of ANLCA.
3. Where is the grundnorm of this verdict.

When you put an inept leader in an organization this is what you get.
Nobody of sane mind would countenance this baseless directive bereft reason” he said

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