The National President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs agents (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu has expressed the hope that with the election and subsequent swearing in of Dr. Kayode Collins Farintho as the National Publicity Secretary of ANLCA, the press would be fully disposed to work with the association.
Shittu who was speaking in Lagos on Monday during the swearing ceremony of the newly elected National Publicity Secretary (NPS) of the association, Dr. Farintho and the Chairman Lillypond/Ijora Chapter of the association, Mr. Olabanji Olufemi stated that with the election of Farintho, some journalists who had hated the association could now have a reason to work with the association as Dr. Farintho was one of their own.
According to him,” let me use this opportunity now to express my gratitude to the members of the press. From 2010 when the press was ready to expose the negative sides of ANLCA, they translated collectively to not disparaging ANLCA until they hear from us. That is an achievement because it is bad news that makes the news”.
“You have held on to this ANLCA and ANLCA of the future. By the emergence of Dr. Farintho, some of you who had hated us because of our interface, you can now have a reason to work with us because he is one of your own. He is not only a publisher, he is a newscaster”.
While welcoming Dr. Farintho onboard, he reminded him that one of the greatest jobs waiting for him was to clean up the association’s image adding that the cleanup he meant was neither what he says to the press nor what he takes along but also the appearances of some of the association’s officials.
“Any Chairman that is not well dressed, please notify the Zonal Coordinator, let him put a memo, we suspend him. Nobody in ANLCA force you to spend your money to become a Chairman or an official. If you must spend money to take a position in ANLCA, there is something you are looking for, you must go according to our rules and regulations”.
“I beg you and God will help you, I know you have some ideas, your ideas can only enhance the ideas some of us have collectively. Ahead of your election, we have started doing some things that you don’t need to redo again but you can only do better”, Shittu said.
Responding, the National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Kayode Farintho reiterated his resolve to rebrand the association saying that by rebranding, he was not meant to say that he was going to change the nomenclature but to change the image the association had at the moment.
He queried,” what is the outside world thinking about ANLCA? Like I said when I went to the east to campaign, my own NPS may not be that of MC (Master of Ceremony), we want to have a situation where the various chapter PROs (Public Relation Officers) must be trained. Let us disseminate information, the budding customs broker does not know what is happening to government policy. They must know and they need to know”.
“But I want to assure you that you are going to have a different ANLCA in terms of image, information dissemination, with your support, just do it the way government wants it”.
Earlier, the Zonal Coordinator, Western zone of the association, Dr. John Oforbuike described Dr. Farintho as a man with so much experience, very easy to learn and very amiable expressing the hope that he would deliver on the mandate given him by the association creditably well.
“Today, Farintho is here as the NPS and I know he can do it better. Somebody was there before, he performed well but he (Farintho) is going to build on what the other person built. So, with your (Press) support as your member, I think you are going to report us well”, Oforbuike said.
