Anxiety At Nigerian Ports Over ANLCA Elections, Oforbike Warns of Imminent Breakdown of Law and Order

…Urges Transport Ministry to Wade in, Nullify CRFFN

Former Western Zone Cordinator of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) and current leader of association in the West, Sir John Oforbike has raised an alarm of a likely breakdown of law and order at the Nigerian ports if the upcoming elections of the association is allowed to hold.

He called on the Ministry of Transportation to intervene and cancel the election in order to save the incoming administration from the breakdown of peace at the ports.

DAILY TREND reports that Sir Oforbike’s call is coming barely one month after some members of the BOT including Chief Earnest Elochukwu, Mr Dayo Azeez and Chief Dennis Okafor sounded similar alarm to the transport ministry, asking her to void all interventions of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) in ANLCA crisis.

Recall that CRFFN had in March 2023 ended the 5-years crisis that bedeviled the association with the constitution of a new Board of Trustees (BOT)

Subsequently, the CRFFN Chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Tsanni who supervised the Inauguration of the BOT, also saw to the establishment of the Association Electoral Committee (ASECO) who have now rolled out election time table for 5th of July 2023.

However, Sir John Oforbike in an exclusive telephone chat with DAILY TREND on Friday said the process of the election is moving rather too fast and will not solve the crisis in association.

Oforbike particularly fingered the Acting President of the association, Dr Kayode Farinto and former BOT Chairman, Chief Henry Njoku, both members of the CRFFN Board, alleging that Abubakar Tsanni, the CRFFN Chairman is being teliguided by both men.

Oforbike urged the Ministry of Transportation to step in and take over the process of the peaceful resolution in ANLCA, adding that CRFFN intervention in the crisis has not yielded needed peace.

“Whatever Abubakar Tsanni has done in ANLCA is just an ordinary shinanigan, if the Transportation Ministry do not wade in and stop this intending election, it would snowball into breakdown of law and order at the port, and I am afraid that ANLCA would die a final death”

“The Ministry of Transportation should listen to all complaints from members and the board, we don’t ANLCA to die

“Farinto does not want any challenger, he wants to hurry the election process because of his personal ambition, he does not want a democratic process, this is why they are running with speed of light just to please him, if this election is allowed to stay, it would disrupt the peace of the port

“The transportation ministry should wade in, extend the date of the election and let us all seat down and come up with modalities for the election, the 2018 constitution should be followed, all what they are doing now is just a smokescreen

“What Abubakar Tsanni has planted in ANLCA is a time bomb, and if what he has planted is allowed to explode, there would be disruption of peace, a breech of Las and order at the port and this would not be good for the incoming administration” he warned

Sir Oforbike argued that it is the chapter elections that must hold first before the National Executive Committee (NECOM) can hold.

According to him, the ANLCA Supreme Constitution stipulated that National elections must be done by collegiate, meaning that it is delegates from chapter level that would vote in the president election.

“ANLCA elections has always been by collegiate, and this starts from chapters, every member at the national belong to one chapter or the other, the chapter register is what would be used, what they are doing currently is illegal”

“The current ASECO Chairman was just brought in to carryout a ‘yo mans job’ we need a permanent peace and not a fragile and graveyard peace

“The association has been in crisis for five years and you want to come do everything by fiat?