ANLCA’s Tope Fatimilehin Breaks Silence Over Removal as ASECO Secretary, Says NEC, Not BOT Has Rights to Remove Him

Mr Tope Fatimilehin, a member of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) who was removed recently as the Secretary of the Association Electoral Committee (ASECO) has kicked against his removal, even as he debunked insinuations by the media aid to ANLCA President, Ayo Sulaiman, that he never protested his removal and was rather hiding behind the former Vice President, Kayode Farinto .

Fatimilehin who sought opportunity with DAILY TREND to speak his side of the story, insisted that the BOT cannot “Hire and Fire” as stated by the Presidential aid, and that only the National Executive Committee (NEC) can remove him.

He told our correspondent that, over the matter of his removal, he had written the ANLCA National President, Emenike Nwokeoji, the Board of Trustees Chairman, Alhaji Taiwo Mustapha, as well as phone calls to critical stakeholders within the Association, including the Chairman of Customs Consultative Council (CCC) Aare Hakeem Olanrewaju.

In a letter signed by the ANLCA BOT Chairman, and Secretary, Kingsley Offor, the board had announced Fatimilehin’s replacement with Abayomi Ajibota.

The letter dated 27th October 2024 states in part “This is to officially bring to your attention, and to notify the Association Electoral Commission that the board came up with below decision in our meeting held on 24th October, 2024.

“Inview of the recent past inreconciable differences between ASECO Secretary and other members of the commission, ASECO is hereby reorganised as follows:
Obiora Elochukwu – Chairman AbayomiAjibota – Secretary
Erasmus Ekeowa – Member
Lekan Babalola – Member

“ASECO is on this note directed to immediately come up with time tables for chapters elections in the North, East and Western Zones. Elections in the chapters in the three zones must be conducted not later than second week of December , 2024. Please accept the warm assurances of the board members”

Speaking on this, Fatimilehin said there was never any inreconciable difference between him and other members of ASECO.

“I kept quiet all these while because I wanted to allow the constituted authorities to handle the matter, but the publication made by the SSA Media warranted my reaction

“How best can i express myself, maybe he (Sulaiman) is expecting me to come to him and lodge complaint, he is just an appointee.
To me, there’s a disconnection between SSA media and the constituted authority or he is just speaking for himself, and he is speaking offhand without any verifiable evidence” he said about the SSA Media.

Continuing, he said “Kayode Farinto is not crying more than the bereaved, rather I have explored all mechanism entailed in the ANLCA constitution.
Immediately I saw the letter of the BOT, I made a personal call to the Board chairman and later wrote the board, even though it is not constitutional, we were only nominated by the Board and ratified by NEC, right there we swore the ought of allegiance, it was not before the Board

“I wrote officially to the board, Clearing myself from the inducting statement, after that, i wrote officially to the President concerning this matter, and the letter was received through Olumide Fakanlu

“I equally wrote another letter to the Western Zone Coordinator as regards this same issue, so why is the SSA Media saying that Kayode Farinto is Crying More than the Bereaved? He wouldn’t know because he is not one of the constituted authorities ”

“That statement that the Board can hire and fire, where is it written in our constitution?

“Let me draw your attention to section 24 of ANLCA Constitution that says that in case of any member’s misconduct, a disciplinary committee would be set up to oversee such matter

“If it is true that the BOT can fire me, then we should have swore our ought of allegiance before them, but ,they only nominated us while the NEC ratified it, that is if truly the board reached such agreements, meanwhile they cannot just shave my head in my absence

“I have decided to keep quiet all these while, not that I don’t know what I was doing, nobody has the monopoly of violence ” he said

In his response letter to the ANLCA BoT dated 31st October 2024, Fatimilehin gave an account of what transpired in the course of the BOT election held this year.

He said “With utmost humility and fear of God, the caption above did not reflect true pictures of what transpired, in the course of discharging our duties, liable to confirmation from other members of the commission.

“May i humbly state here, that we started having issues with the chairman ASECO when he instructed and insisted that the name of the 17th aspirants must be included on the Aspirants list with payment receipt of 16th of July 2024.

“Secondly, he flew in from port-harcourt and discard the aspirant list already compiled and sent to him for approval on ASECO platform, which he consented to, he went ahead and typed another one and sent to executive platform for obvious reasons.

“Thirdly, he retired all expenses A-Z solely without the consent of any ASECO members, he stayed @ grand palazo hotel for a week, from 11th-25th August without ASECO activities or any meeting whatsoever, yet the budget was on ASECO,

“We saw sundry expenses of N980,000, none of ASECO members has sight of what the money meant for.

“Among all, He coliected sum of N5O0,000 on the eve of election, confirmed right in his present and other members of ASECO, Yomi Ajibola to be precise. with the few but not limited to the above, We were able to manage ourselves, put in our best diligently to deliver BOARD ELECTION peacefully without interference”