The crisis rocking one of the five accredited freight forwarding associations, the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders Nigeria (AREFFN) may have been over as the former National President of the association; Dr. Frank Ukor has finally handed over power to the interim National President, Alhaji Bala Lawan Daura.
It will be recalled that crisis hit the association when the tenure of the former President elapsed on the 11th of August, 2017 and election was not conducted by the outgone executive to elect those that will take over from them thereby prompting appointment of interim National Executive Committee headed by Alhaji Daura by the members of the association’s Board of Trustees of which Ukor the former President was the Chairman.
But in what looked like an afterthought, Dr. Ukor made a U-turn saying that he would never support any interim Executive Committee led by Alhaji Daura accusing him of having a legal battle with the association as well as embezzling the association’s fund accruing to it from the Onne chapter whereas the other two BOT members namely; Mr. Ejike Metu and Mr. Innocent Elum sticked to their gun that Alhaji Daura was unanimously chosen by the Board, Ukor inclusive to run the affairs of the association for one year and that there was no going back.
Such was the battle that earlier in the year, there seemed to be reconciliation as Dr. Ukor later sheathed his sword and accepted Alhaji Daura as President of the association saying that someone has to make sacrifice for thing to work well. However, the fragile peace broke down thereafter when the duo of Dr. Frank Ukor and Mr. Innocent Elum wrote a sack letter to Alhaji Daura and his interim National Secretary, Mr. Chidi Anthony Opara citing incompetence and lopsided leadership as reason for their dismissal, a decision the elders and members of the association has since reversed.
But in a brief ceremony yesterday at Green Ville Event Centre, Ajao Estate, Isolo, Lagos, which was attended by the members of the BOT; Mr. Innocent Elum and Mr. Ejike Metu alongside elders of the association including Ichie Frank Obiekezie and Comptroller Banye (rtd.), Dr. Frank Ukor formally handed over the assets and liability of the association to the interim National Executive committee.
The handover note written and signed by Ukor which was sighted by our correspondent read as follows,” Today, I Dr. Frank C. Ukor and other former executives do hereby handover the association to the interim interim executive led by Alhaji Bala Lawan Daura. Items handed over are; 1. A bound printed list of members of AREFFN 2. The constitution of AREFFN as registered by the CAC 3. The proposed amended constitution as reviewed by the Board of Trustees 4. The association’s secretariat 5. Every other property, assets and liabilities are inside the locked secretariat and will be handed over later”.
When contacted for a comment on the handover ceremony, the former President, Dr. Frank Ukor declined comment adding that the association of had resolved not to bring their activities to the public through the media. He however told our correspondent that he should write that he (Ukor) had handed over to the interim National Executive and that the interim National Executive would conduct election for the association next month.
The interim National President, Alhaji Bala Lawan Daura was not available for comment as he left immediately after receiving the handover document to catch up with his flight back to Port-Harcourt which was scheduled to leave at 4:00pm.
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