…Mukaila explains financial dealings, submits bank statements to Police
Barely one week to the Board of Trustees, BoT election of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, the current executive of the association led by the National President, Mr. Emenike Nwokeoji has taken steps towards probing the administration of his predecessor, Hon. Tony Iju Nwabunike over alleged financial recklessness.
The probe is being carried out through a petition to the Police Special Fraud Unit, PSFU, Ikoyi, Lagos, instigated by ANLCA National Secretary, Mr. Olumide Fakanu and was written for the Murtala Mohammed Airport Chapter of the association, which was the only financially responsive chapter under the immediate past ANLCA executive led by Tony Iju Nwabunike.
The immediate past National Secretary of ANLCA, Otunba Abdulazeez Babatunde Mukaila, who featured prominently in the petition, disclosed this during a press conference in response to a recent online media publication with the headline: “Conspiracy, Stealing of ANLCA Money Trails Mukaila, Days To BoT Election.”
Mukaila, however, explained to newsmen on Friday that although he was invited by the Nigeria Police, what he discover was as follows:
“In the year 2022, aggrieved Western Zone members, violently attacked the National Secretariat in the month of February which resulted to Police locking down the Secretariat between March and May, 2022 in the first instance before reopening it.
“Subsequently, in August of 2022, same aggrieved Western Zone members and some factional BOT members, violently attacked the Secretariat and installed an interim National President, Mr. Pius Ujubounu and Joe sanni as the Interim National Secretary before the Police moved in and locked down the National Secretariat again between August and 28th December, 2022 when Tony Iju led administration was able to reopen the National Secretariat.
“These are facts in the public domain. However, the ex-NECOM kept faith and all salaries were paid, inclusive of the Police orderlies on guard.”
He maintained that as the Head of the National Secretariat, he picked up all the administrative expenses while all those crisis lasted even as he insisted that there was no reference to the N500 Million captured in the online media report.
His words, “I got an invitation letter through the ANLCA National Secretariat to the Nigerian Police. I got this invitation letter on August 7th, 2024. It was sent to the ANLCA National Secretariat.”
Reading out the content of the Police invitation letter, Mukaila said, “The Police Fraud Unit is investigating a case wherein your name features prominently. You are hereby invited for an interview with the Commissioner of Police on Thursday, August 8th, 2024 by 2pm. This request is prepared as an urgent requirement and you’re requested to treat it with utmost urgency.”
Noting that he wasn’t in Lagos at the time, the former ANLCA National Secretary, disclosed that he made himself available to the Police the next Monday, August 12th, 2024 and demanded to see the petition which was not made available to him on request.
“I was told that the petition was for ANLCA Murtala Mohammed Airport chapter and myself as the National Secretary under Tony Iju led administration became a person of interest. The Police letter was addressed to me personally but was left in care of the ANLCA National Secretariat. So, I forwarded the letter to the ANLCA National President, Mr. Emenike Nwokeoji and National Secretary, Deacon Olumide Fakanlu.
“The ANLCA President said he wasn’t aware of the Police petition and asked me to find out who wrote the petition. The National Secretary also claimed ignorance of why the police had invited me. Since I knew the invitation was from the Police Fraud Unit, I went to the meeting with my bank statement covering the inception of Adewusi’s administration and my exit as the Sole Administrator of ANLCA.
“The Police asked for vouchers for the period but I pointed out that I was no longer in office and advised them to write to the ANLCA National Secretariat for the vouchers. I equally wrote to the Secretariat to make available the vouchers to the Police to aid their investigation. My letter to the ANLCA Secretariat requesting for the vouchers is available.
“On my second visit to the Police station, I stressed the need to know the petitioner, the police arranged a meeting for the petitioner’s appearance and was shocked to discover that it was the National Secretary, Mr. Fakanu. The legal adviser of the Western Zone during the period of the leadership tussle was also a signatory.
“At the end of the meeting, the Police discovered that the issue was an internal association fracas and advised us to solve the matter within the association. The ANLCA National Secretary, however, revealed that the ANLCA President, Nwokeoji had directed that the matter be taken to court”, Mukaila explained.
While stressing that the timing of the petition and published media report is an orchestrated scheme to distort his contest for the ANLCA BoT, Mukaila described the development as a failed ploy.
He, however, explained that the monthly dues from the MMA Chapter was initially pegged at N700,000 by ANLCA Financial Review Committee but the Tony Iju administration had beckoned on chapter Chairman, Prince Bamgbala Adewusi to kindly raise its commitment to N1 Million monthly since other chapters in the Western Zone didn’t make any financial commitment to the ANLCA Secretariat at the time.
“There were several times when I had to bear the fiscal burden of paying workers salaries and other operational costs especially during all the period of the attacks, when the bank instruments like cheques and others were not accessible as a result of the National Secretariat lockdown by the Police and the delay by MMIA chapter which was the only chapter remitting its dues then in the whole of the Western Zone, doing so at that time.
“I didn’t participate in any N500 Million fraud with Adewusi and the Police never said so. While not holding a brief for Adewusi as the Chairman and Chief accounting Officer of MMAC, he has been empowered constitutionally under section 12 to administer his chapter’s funds and must definitely defend his actions and attend to police investigation.
“I dare say MMAC Chapter was the only financially responsible chapter of the Western zone during our administration and he wasn’t owning the association as at the time we left office.”
He continued, “I have also heard rumours that Adewusi is bankrolling my campaign or he has been bankrolling me; but I have submitted my bank statement to the Police and they haven’t made such a claim. If anything, I can say I was bankrolling the ANLCA Secretariat during the segmented periods of attacks enumerated above while the same people filing petitions wouldn’t contribute a dime to the National Secretariat, rather was sponsoring OPC to attacked the Secretariat with guns and charms with fake ANLCA ID card issued by same aggrieved Western Zone members to OPC”, Mukaila submitted.
He however, maintained that a total sum of Three Million, Six Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira (N3,620,000) representing monthly dues was received by him from MMAC account as a monthly dues as follows; 21st March, 2022: One Million Naira (N1,000,000); 14th April, 2022: One Million Naira (N1,000,000) and 12th September, 2022: Seven Hundred Thousand Naira (N700,000).
Others according to him are: the sum of Six Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira (N620,000) was received on 12th October, 2022; One Hundred Thousand Naira (N100,000) on 9th December, 2022 and Two Hundred Thousand Naira (N200,000) on the 14th December, 2022.
“If you calculate all this money, you are going to get Three Million, Six Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira (N3,620,000) in all. The Constitution of ANLCA does not permit Adewusi to send money from MMAC account to Abdulazeez Babatunde directly unless I can prove I have done something for his chapter and I want reimbursement.
“Meanwhile, all this money represents the money I spent to run the Secretariat. These are the monies Adewusi paid to me from the chapter account which is the subject of discussion. On the 2nd of February, 2022, hoodlums in conjunction with the Police took over the ANLCA Secretariat and the place was locked down and it was reopened in May 2022.
“In the course of that, we still had to pay our staff. We had four security men and we still had to pay NEPA bills because we have a transformer and our bill every month is about Eight Hundred Thousand Naira (N800,000). So, who is going to keep paying? I paid for February, March, April and things normalized in May.
“If you look at that March and April, there was no access to the Secretariat, so, I picked those bills and then, for me to get my funds back, the government of the day decided that Adewusi can pay the monthly remittance of the chapter to me because the place was locked down but we keep running from wherever and meeting our financial obligations.
“So, you now know why those remittances had to come to me through Adewusi. Those periods clearly were during the attacks, no access to Secretariat, whereas two Police orderlies, eight staff salaries and utilities need to be paid as approved by the then Acting National President, Dr Kayode Farinto during the lock down orchestrated by the aggrieved Western Zone members”, he informed.
Photo 1: Otunba Abdulazeez Babatunde Mukaila, Immediate past Sole Administrator and ANLCA Board of Trustees hopeful.
Photos 2 & 3: Pictures of Police take over of ANLCA National Secretariat in 2022.
Video 1: Secretariat reopening on 29th December, 2022.
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1 Comment
Good luck as you are doing a Great job I ask you the press to make sure you get to the root and cause of several attacks , May I also say that all things being equal since the BOT election is by the side, the petitioners, The head of the administration talking about the president of ANLCA, The current N/S Should hold on to avoid Deschafris any of the contents. Then after the Election that is coming up on the 12th of this month. They revisit the investigation thanks, that’s my personal opinion.