INTERVIEW: AGM: “We need to move forward, ANLCA needs new breath,” – National Secretary, Mukaila
INTERVIEW: AGM: "We need to move forward, ANLCA needs new breath," - National Secretary, Mukaila
As the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) looks.forward.to having its Annual General Meeting anytime soon, it said there was need for members to bend rules to accommodate one another for peace to reign in the foremost freight forwarding group in the maritime industry.
Speaking on the development, National Secretary of ANLCA, Alhaji Babatunde Mukaila stated in this interview the criteria for membership and eventual admittance into the AGM
He however frowned at some appointments by a faction of the group into the NECOM of the association which he said negated the regulations of ANLCA.
More revelations by Alhaji Mukaila are contained in the explosive interview.
Excerpts.
As the National Secretary of ANLCA and custodian of data base of the Association, it is no longer news that with the intervention of the CRFFN, your AGM will be holding soon. We know this is not the first time you are holding an AGM, but the story outside there seems as this is your first AGM, can you tell us the criteria and conditions for members to attend this all important AGM?
Thank you for having me, the constitution of ANLCA irrespective of any version at your disposal, Section (4), under Membership stipulates that members of the association shall be limited to corporate bodies incorporated under the CAMA1990 as amended 2020. So, all our AGM is supposed to be governed by general members, those Companies who are corporate members of ANLCA. So is not a new thing as you rightly said, it is just the company owners that should come forward and participate in the AGM and the representatives of those companies ought to be Directors who must have had, this is the caveat, at least 10% of shareholding of those companies and at least five years running and whose membership status must as well be five years with ANLCA. I hope that answers your question?.
Besides the ANLCA Constitutional requirements, any other condition or requirements for members who want to attend the AGM?
In my simple answer, a little while ago, I talked about Section (4) of our constitution, about membership . The other thing very important is what should follow to register as a member of ANLCA. Any member of ANLCA under the same Section (4), Sub-section (3) Registration of members , it states that for that purpose of Registration ” A member shall make application in writing to the ANLCA Headquarters through his chapter within his area of operation via Executive or Committee set up, shall recommend the applicant to the NECOM. The applicant is deemed fit and proper person to be admitted as a member. He shall be so admitted”. There are fees to be paid and the fee is N10,000, from members , that is the Annual Dues.So that qualifies you, if you have a valid License and be up to date financially for you to attend the AGM.
So, if this has been the criteria, why the hues by the aggrieved faction about the AGM?
I wouldn’t know why because if you are a member of ANLCA, it is an automatic thing for you to attend the AGM as the Director of your company whose License is valid one, and two who has paid their dues up to date . I want to believe anybody raising eyebrows , is it that they don’t have a license or they are not financially up to date as members of ANLCA?. That will be my straight forward answer.
That brought us to the issue of License. We have been hearing that some people who were appointed by the aggrieved faction as NECOM in acting capacities don’t have licences. As the Scribe and custodian of ANLCA documents and data, how true is this?. Can you name and shame them?.
Thank you for that your wonderful question. In a situation of crises all over the world, crises of war in that perspective, the first casualty is the truth and ANLCA is not an exception . There have been a lot of falsehood , fake news and to put it in a very straight perspective. I believe some ANLCA members who have served either by errors of commission or omission at the highest level should know better and be conversant with their constitution. To answer your question, yes I believe Taiwo Mustapha who has consistently claimed to be whatever he says he is to be abreast with the provisions of ANLCA Constitution. I will go straight to when Mustapha broke in here (ANLCA National Secretariat) and saud he had appointed interim NECOM. The constitution of ANLCA is very clear under Section ( 4), that members of ANLCA shall be limited by Corporate companies, notwithstanding Sub-section (1) and under Section ( 2) it went further to say that no company or firm shall be registered as a member of ANLCA if , Section ( 4), Subsection (2a) does not carry on business in the Shipping and Freight Forwarding (b) if not Licensed by the Nigeria Customs. I see it as a mischief or lack of knowledge on the part of Taiwo Mustapha to have violated the ANLCA constitution by appointing people who do not have corporate Company Licenses by the Customs to positions at the National level. so to confirm your allegation, I will run it down for you. Sometimes, I think it was 24th August 2022, Taiwo Mustapha came into ANLCA National Secretariat and appointed some people who are not owners of Corporate companies and who are not registered to carry out business of Shipping and Freight Forwarding as enshrined in ANLCA Constitution into positions of authority . I believe Taiwo Mustapha should have known better to make such grievous mistakes and cause confusion that we are all seeing now . Let me say anything I say to you , I will substantiate it . On that faithful day one Pius Ujubuonu was appointed to the position of Acting National President, what Taiwo Mustapha called “Interim President” . I want to let you know with facts and figures that in the year 2012, when the data protocol of ANLCA was being perfected and as it was then, I was the ASECO Chairman. And Pius Ujubuonu came to me presenting a License of a corporate Company called MIRACLE VENTURES LTD. Yes that License as at the year the data was being processed in ,2013, did not exist. Pius Ujubuonu with ID card No WZ5100000083, the company did not exist. So in the last ten years Pius Ujubuonu does not have a license .
In the same vain, when you go to Tin Can Island Chapter, where you have all the list of corporate company members of ANLCA, you will find a company called DEJIDE INVESTMENT COMPANY LTD. The company has a gentleman called Jide as Director and principal officer, he employed Adeyinka Jamiu Ishola with staff ID card No WZ 2300000285. It will interest you to know that four years ago, Mr Jide passed away and the License has remained moribund. This is the same person Taiwo Mustapha appointed as Acting National Vice President of ANLCA.
He did not stop at that, just to cause more confusion in ANLCA, he went further to appoint another person to the position of Acting Financial Secretary of ANLCA. The gentleman who is equally a clerk of a company called OMO- BOY INTERNATIONAL, a company whose Director is one late Alabi. Taiwo Mustapha appointed Gbadamosi Waheed Badmus as Acting Financial Secretary of ANLCA. That makes three of them.
Another impostor is one Francis Ozemede Itua,who was also appointed by Taiwo Mustapha as Acting National Publicity Secretary of ANLCA. Francis Itua is just a clerk with SEVEN86 IMPEX & ALLIED LIMITED. This Company has all his Directors to be Indians. So for Francis Itua to be issuing statements, calling himself , Acting NPS of ANLCA is not only dangerous, but is criminal, full with mischiefs for him to be disclaimed so that the general public will know.
As you are planning for the AGM, what will be your message to your members?
My message is simple, we need to bend backward, we need to move forward, ANLCA needs to breath. All registered Corporate members of ANLCA with valid Licenses should come forward and register for the AGM is the right of all Corporate members of ANLCA.
