The Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents has sanctioned five of its members for five years, placing them in the association’s dishonour list, following the purported election held last Wednesday by the suspended Western Zone executives and a faction of the Board of Trustees members, led by Alhaji Taiwo Mustpaha, who participated in the election
ANLCA, at its National Executive Council meeting in Abuja last Monday, suspended the Western Zonal Coordinator, Sir John Ofobike, his Secretary and seven chapter Chairmen for their role in seeking to recognise Mr. Emenike Nwokeoji, who lost election to the incumbent National President, Chief Tony Iju Nwabunike, and for absenting themselves from the NEC meeting without any permission.
The five BoT members, whose names were enlisted in the dishonour register, include a former National President of the association, Sir Ernest Elochukwu; a former National Vice President of ANLCA, Chief Dennis Okafor; Secretary to the Board, Prince Taiye Oyeniyi; factional Chairman of the Board, Alhaji Taiwo Mustapha; and Mr. Dayo David Azeez.
The suspended persons, in association with the BoT faction, led by Alhaji Taiwo Mustapha, had purportedly held election in five chapters of the Western Zone, an exercise the National Vice President of ANLCA, Dr. Kayode Farinto, described as charade, saying the only body empowered to conduct election in the association was the Association’s Electoral Committee which was ratified by the NEC.
At a media briefing in Lagos at the weekend, Farinto described the roles played by the five members of the BoT as inglorious, having sworn to uphold the constitution of the association as well as sworn to the oath of allegiance even as he observed that anybody working contrary to that would definitely face the consequence.
“In view of this, we are opening a dishonour register, where names of these five members of BoT will be included. They are; Sir Ernest Elochukwu, who was once a President of ANLCA; Mr. Dayo Azeez, Mr. Mustapha Taiwo, Mr. Dennis Okafor and Prince Taiye
Oyeniyi.
“Why are we doing this? Mr. Mustapha was swearing in a parallel ASECO Chairman. We want to know where he has derived his power from because he doesn’t have that power. You will see that for me to swear in all the other administrators that were not sworn in at the NEC, I have to quote the relevant section of the constitution and it is only when I am empowered by the relevant section of this constitution, that I can go ahead and do that, not just for an ordinary member.
“It is an aberration; it is very wrong because the BoT will only be heard and not be seen and it is only when we don’t have NECOM that the BoT can be seen but we have NECOM in place and everybody witnessed the swearing in of our President and the various NECOM members. So, that is why the names of these members will be in the dishonour list for five years,” he explained.
He disclosed that a member of the association from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport chapter, who took part in the said election on Wednesday, had since been suspended by the chapter Chairman, Nze Aloysius Igwe, saying, “The beautiful thing about this constitution is that whatever thing that is done at the National level can be done at the chapter. He is the Chief Executive of MMIA, whatever he does there, he will just forward to me and it is put in our register and
so be it.”
Explaining what enlisting one’s name in the dishonour register means, the The National Vice President said, “You know these are people we give special respect when they are coming, we stand up in their honour. You witnessed what happened a while ago, NPS announced my arrival and everybody stood up in honour of me, that kind of privileges will no longer be extended to them. It also means that when we are giving honours, awards to people tomorrow, they are not going to be part of it. It is not part of the punishment but it is in the periphery of what they are going
to see.”
