A new association of licensed customs agents, Advocacy for Maritime Development Association of Nigeria (AMDAN) has emerged. The association is made up of members of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) with the Chief of Staff to the National President, Mr. Eniola Igbaroola as a member of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the new association.
The association formed five years ago as a club later on transformed to an association with its registration at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) last year.
Members of the association, all of them fifteen in number gathered at Carliza Hotels, Apapa on Thursday to elect their leaders that will pilot the affairs of the association in the next two years.
At the end of the election, Mr. Segun Alabi defeated the incumbent President, Alhaji Mohammed Mojeed Olomola with eight votes to seven to emerge as the new President of the association while Mr. Fatimehin Oluwatope emerged as the Secretary with 15 votes.
Also elected same day were; Alhaji Olalekan Wasiu Azeez as Treasurer with 14 votes, Popoola Hakeem as Financial Secretary with 14 votes, Babatunde Adekoya as Social Secretary/ Welfare with 15 votes and Onyeme Emmanuel as Public Relations Officer (PRO) with 14 votes.
Speaking to newsmen shortly, a member of the BOT and one of the Returning Officers, Mr. Eniola Igbaroola disclosed that the idea behind the club was to promote social wellbeing of members and promote their professional ethics adding that “our main interest is how we can enhance the maritime sector and how we can contribute our quota to the development of the maritime sector.”
On whether the association is breaking away from ANLCA as it consisted of top ANLCA members, Igbaroola who is also the Managing Director, Enyman Nigeria Limited said, “ANLCA is a very big family, we have ANLCA in Port-Harcourt, we have ANLCA everywhere but this advocacy group is not everywhere. We have been working together; we want something that will bind us together. At the end, we all belong to ANLCA, so we are not rivaling ANLCA, we don’t even count ourselves as pressure group but we are group of people after our own social wellbeing and to deepen our professional etiquette.”
He further said that the association was open for maritime practitioners to join saying,” Our club is an assemblage of like minds, you as a journalist can apply to be a member. We believe in the constitution of Nigeria which provides for freedom of association. So, if you feel that you like us and you are in maritime sector, you can contribute to professionalism, you are free to join us.”
Also speaking, the newly elected President, Mr. Segun Alabi stated that he intended to strengthen the relationship among members within the next few months noting that members’ welfare would be key to his administration even as he assured of engaging institutions and stakeholders that could help their trade.
He said, “We are setting up a big secretariat, we intend also to equip our secretariat and ensure that our secretariat is working. We have plans for all our members and like I mentioned earlier, their welfare is more important. It used to be a social club but we metamorphosed into an association of people. Every individual you see here, they are licensed customs agents, there is no individual here that is not a Managing Director of his company and we are reputable people.
“For now, members don’t have any social welfare; we are trying to bring in an insurance policy that will guarantee us. We used to believe that as clearing agents, we cannot be pensioned but a lot of insurance companies have called me to say that there is a product for us. So, we are talking to the insurance companies to bring in this policy so that we can sell the idea to our members so that they can be part of the policy so that at the end of the day, everybody will have a cover. In the next few years, we intend to bring in individuals who could help our trade, who have the vision with us so that together, we can reap the glory of advocate.”
On the crisis rocking ANLCA, he submitted that what ANLCA was going through presently was something that was going to fizzle away with time urging people not to be distracted by what was happening.
Asked if he intend to severe the association from ANLCA, he retorted, “No! Let me tell you this, there is freedom of association everywhere as entrenched in the Nigerian constitution. ANLCA is a mother association; we are just like individuals coming together for a common interest, we are not rivaling any association. Like I said, I am a member of ANLCA, I have been a member of ANLCA for a long time and I am happy with what is happening in ANLCA, I am happy with what the President, Hon. Tony Iju is doing. We are not working at variance in any way.”
Reacting on the outcome of the election, the founding President, Alhaji Mohammed Mojeed Olomola expressed happiness over the emergence of a leader for the association even as he pledged to support him while urging the new President not to take side in the crisis rocking ANLCA rather he should remain neutral just as he did during his tenure.
On his achievements as President of the association, Olomola recounted the registration of the association with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and keeping the members of the association united as one as his major achievements.
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