As campaigns for the forthcoming Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA Board of Trustees, BoT election heats up, the immediate past Sole Administrator of the association, Otunba Abdulazeez Babatunde Mukaila has described a group of contestants for the BoT slots christened, “The Group of Nine Like Minds”, as a campaign strategy.
Mukaila who made this declaration in a chat with newsmen in Lagos recently said that the group of nine adopted the measure as a strategy for them to win seats as a group into ANLCA BoT hence members of the group were campaigning to the people, trying to buy into their consciousness, the same way he was doing.
He however, expressed his conviction that despite the fact that he was not a member of the group of nine, he will emerge victorious in the election as according to him, his track record of service in the association would speak for him.
His words, “This is an election and thank God it is at the Annual General Meeting where the members will decide to choose nine out of fourteen. So, I believe that the members will decide. The group of nine are campaigning to the people, trying to buy into their consciousness, it is a strategy.
“I am not perturbed at all. I have said it very clearly that my track record will speak for me. It is an election and it is ANLCA members that will decide who goes in as a Board member. So, ANLCA members will decide. Whatever they decide in the hall will be seen by everyone, then we will live by it.
“I am a billionaire in my own right but I don’t have money to share to anybody because I am coming to give service which I am known for. So, the members will decide. So, group of nine are campaigning, they have told our members what they are coming to do, I am trying to use this medium too to say this is why I want to go to the Board. The members will look at what we put on the table, then, they will decide where they throw in their votes. That is the way I see it.”
Insisting that it was not the duty of the Board to solve operational problems for members, Mukaila who is also the immediate past National Secretary of ANLCA maintained that it was the duty of the Executive arm of the association through the President to solve the operational problems adding that it would be his recommendation to the President that he lay in a very clear terms how he wanted to achieve and improve relationship between ANLCA members and other government agencies with customs as the lead agency.
“It shouldn’t be my duty as a Board member to say I want to achieve this. That is the job of the President because if I want to achieve all that, the President should rather pack and go home.
“Section 6 of the ANLCA constitution stipulates the functions of the National President to be the Chief Executive Officer of the association and the same constitution under Section 13 subsection 5 stipulates the functions of the Board that I am going into to hold, acquire, transfer, assign it otherwise dispose of any property of this association. The Board does not have any administrative power except there is a vacuum. To appoint members of ASECO and monitor all elections. That is what the constitution says and once you have done this, you have fulfilled your duty as the Board.
“As a Board member, if I am working with this constitution, 90 percent of disagreement within this association always erupt from election related matters and that is why I am insisting that we need to redefine the relationship between the Board and the Executive because our members are having confused loyalty.
“During the immediate past regime, ANLCA was involved in almost 21 court cases which all of you know, emanating from election and all the rest and it is the duty of the Board to be the fodder that stop any bullet coming from outside to the association but when the canon fodder becomes the shooter, then, you have a problem”, he said.
Photo: Otunba Abdulazeez Babatunde Mukaila, immediate past Sole Administrator and ANLCA Board of Trustees Candidate.
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