ANLCA Western Zone Says Chapter Elections Timetable Too Tight

…Appeals for extension,   

BY EGUONO ODJEGBA

L-R: A woman member, Oduntan, Anifowoshe and Fakunle during the meeting

Members of the Western Zone of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) expressed concern about the chapter elections time table that was released recently by the Association Electoral Committee (ASECO), and have appealed to both the Board of Trustees (BOT) and ASECO to consider extending the time table give member sufficient time for electioneering campaigns.

Represented by their zonal leadership at a meeting presided over by the Zonal Coordinator, Alhaji Femi Anifowoshe  at Apapa on Thursday, western zone members of the association expressed their views about the election time table, specifically on the timing which they believed is short and somewhat out of tone with the constitutional provisions.

Speaking on the election, Alhaji Ayo Sulaiman from PTML Chapter appealed to the BOT to extend the election time table, since the ASECO according to constitution, takes orders directly from the BOT.

“For you to conduct election of nine chapters, and seven officers who’ll campaign in their chapters to their members, they need time to campaign and present their manifestos. The time table given is too short for this election.

“So, we should please pass this message to the BOT, they are our fathers, they have their mandates and prerogative, but they must temper justice with mercy.

Also speaking, Mr Ademola Makanjuola of the Apapa Chapternote that their intervention is an appeal borne out of sincere concern, and not intended to antagonize  the constituted authorities saddled with election matters in the association.

He said, “We cannot query the authority, but appeal to the authority. What I am appealing for is that they should give us till February 2025 for the election to hold. We are only pleading, if three months is too much,  they can extend it for a month for us. That is the only thing we are asking for.”

Former Sole Administrator and National Secretary, Otunba Babatunde Mukaila, also speaking urged the BOT to be mindful of section 2 of the ANLCA Supreme Constitution as a guide to stick with the clear provisions of the constitution.

“The fundamentals of this document, under section 2, section 2, says association is not by coercion, it is voluntary. So when we talk about authority, what does the constitution say about authority? It says, this constitution shall be inherently and adherently held supreme, and its provision shall be binding on all persons and authorities subject to this association.

“What that section has said is, irrespective of which authority you are or who you are, this constitutional provision shall be supreme. As we are closing this meeting, and we are suggesting by appealing or otherwise to the authority, the authority cannot overlook what is here. Let us appeal to the authorities to listen to what people have said.

“But they should be mindful of section 2 which says that no authority should have the rule of thumb to change what the constitution has said. My position has always been that let us abide by the provision of the constitution” he admonished.

Also speaking, the ANLCA National Secretary, Elder Olumide Fakanlu observed that the BOT election which was conducted recently ,took two months of rigorous planning to achieve, implying that, conducting elections into nine chapters with about seven executives each, would be somewhat difficult to achieve under two weeks.

“The BOT election that was conducted took two months preparation. But from the time table that was rolled out by ASECO, they are giving two weeks for elections into seventeen chapters, I don’t know how that would be done” he said

Yemi Astrup of PTML Chapter observed that the board owe the association a listening ear, especially in matters of the nature that members feel strongly about.   “We have been (showing) understanding with the BOT and we voted them into power, it is time for them to also help us.

“If they don’t go by the constitution, then we would not agree with the time table that was issued. We have our own people to campaign to at the chapters”

This is even as Mr Tope Akindele of the Muritala Muhammed Int’l Airport, sounded worried and warned against the eruption of a fresh crisis induced by election guidelines controversy.

“I want to tell the NECOM that, after the election is held, the executives would be handed over to the NECOM and not the BOT. If there is any rancour from this election, it is the NECOM that it would affect.

“This is not the first election, even Nigeria proposed election and it was shifted, what are we rushing for? They should give us more time for the atmosphere to be calm”, Akindele stated.

ANLCA Vice President, Prince Segun Oduntan who was at the meeting promised to take all the concerns raised, to the board.

“In our position, we can only report back to the Board and say this is the position of our members in the West. But I know that in section 22 of our constitution, it says that a candidate standing for election shall have the following rights;

“The right to campaign, the right to ask for votes, the right to issue manifesto, to carry out all other things directed by the electorate.

“Because tomorrow, we don’t want anybody to say, ‘Oh they didn’t allow me to even say what I want to do for my members’. I think we will just report back to our BOT, let them look at this side, but if they override us, there’s nothing we can do”, he waxed philosophical.

Towing the same line, the Western Zone Coordinator, Alhaji Femi Anifowoshe said members concerns in the zone will be escalated to the appropriate quarters, even as he responded to allegation of exploitation by vehicle seat customs officers in the zone, said to be mishandling VIN operations.

“About the forthcoming elections, we shall communicate to the BOT, maybe to extend the time for us, after this,  we shall get back to our people. It is not easy to have an election, they need to campaign and do so many other things. This is an association election and you would need to meet people that would vote for you so that you can be victorious.

“They voted for us as NECOM, they voted for the BOT as well, now that it is their own chapter election, we would need to support them too, so that things can move very well.We don’t want any problems from the West again, the six years journey of crisis we have gone through in the past, we don’t want to embark on such journey again, we want to go to a clean sheet so that our people will be happy with us.

“On the issue of 846, we shall speak with Area Controllers of Commands, so that they can help our people, the year is running to an end and a lot of demurrages are counting on vehicles, especially the RoRo vehicles”, the western zone leader said.