The Association Electoral Commission (ASECO) of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has given reasons why it disqualified the Vice-Chairman of the association at the PTML Chapter, Alhaji Lameen Aliyu from contesting in today’s Western Zone elections held at the Villa Park Hotels, Festac Town, Lagos.
Alhaji Aliyu who was aspiring to be the Chairman of ANLCA at the PTML Chapter stormed the venue of the Western Zone election with his supporters during voting to register their dissatisfaction with his disqualification from the day’s contest alleging favoritism on the part of the ASECO members as well as the national officers whom they accused of stopping a formidable candidate for an anointed one.
But refuting the claims, the ASECO Chairman, Alhaji Abdulazeez Babatunde Mukaila denied any attempt by the commission to favour any preferred candidate stating that the ASECO Electoral guideline was very clear on the matters relating to eligibility of any candidate to contest for any position in the association.
According to him,” Yes, to lay the matter straight, for any individual to be the Chairman of any chapter of ANLCA, you must have been a Director of a corporate company for five years as at the day of the screening. How do we confirm the five year period? We go to the Corporate Affairs Commission to know when the company was registered. Equally, we go the Customs to know the first year that company became a licensed company.
“Having analyzed all these scenarios, the Chairmanship aspirant from PTML was disqualified because he failed to meet the five years of Directorship with special proviso and what is the proviso? The proviso states that you have to be a Director that have at least 10% stake in the company that nominates you as a Director for at least five years backwards so that you don’t just jump into a company last month as a Director with shares and will be our Chairman.
“We have this particular case, the man became a shareholder and a Director exactly on February 19, 2013. If anyone of you will recall, the same contested in our election in January 2013 as the Vice-Chairman. The same analysis I have given you applied to be the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and the Secretary. He was summarily disqualified in January 2013 because then he did not meet the 10% share hold.
“After the January 2013 election, in February of that same year, he now perfected the requirements and if you agree with me, from February 2013 to today is not five years, it is three years”.
The Chairman however averred that Alhaji Aliyu had every reason to contest for the position of the Public Relations Officer (PRO) in the association with his current status which had a minimum of three years of Directorship, same as Assistant Secretary or the Financial Secretary.
On the alleged late communication of his disqualification to him by the Commission, Mukiaila said,” he was notified appropriately. He protested initially, his position was that he had been a Director before 2013, that he got his shares in 2013, that we should count backwards from 2013 when his stake in the company has not measured up and we looked at it passionately that well, the guideline is very sacrosanct, you must have gotten 10% shares five years backwards. He got the 10% share hold in February 13th, 2013 and he has to be stopped”.
Meanwhile all attempt made at getting Alhaji Aliyu to speak to the Press on the matter proved abortive as he declined comment alleging that the journalists striving to speak with him were paid agents of ASECO who were bent on making money out of whatever he was going to tell them.
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