The National President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu has explained that the need to give the newly elected National Publicity Secretary (NPS) of the association, Dr. Kayode Farinto necessitated his seeming silence recently and not the alleged suspension from office.
Shittu who made this known in an interview with Primetime Reporters was reacting to media reports that he was suspended from his office as the National President over matters connected with the Practitioners’ Operating Fees of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN).
He observed that he did what he was doing for the current NPS to the former NPS so as to allow him carry out his functions as stipulated by the ANLCA constitution but was rejected by the journalists working with the association for some obvious reasons thus necessitating his performing the job of the National President and that of the NPS.
According to him,” There is nothing like that; I still remain the President of ANLCA. No way, I have never missed, anywhere you don’t see me, you know that I have delegated functions. Infact, what many people don’t understand, with the advent of the new National Publicity Secretary, who naturally should be the spokesman for the association, things have changed from what it used to be”.
“Now, if you can tell me any of the functions that I missed, I will clarify for you”.
On why he was absent from the meeting between the Minister of Transport and the freight forwarding associations, the ANLCA boss explained,” I was not there because the NEC, our National Executive Council has set up a committee to look into the issue of CRFFN and coincidentally, all the while I was indisposed, I was in the village treating cold, catarrh and cough. I have not been myself of late. Infact, I came back yesterday. Apart from the coincidence, I deliberately delegated the committee to go and interface with them”.
“CRFFN issue is a fundamental issue that our NEC is looking into and now they have gone to Abuja and come back, the committee will now report back to the NEC. It is a temporary committee and we don’t run ANLCA by committee, that was a temporary assignment. Those who are peddling the rumour are still the same group of rumour mongers, let them continue”.
He challenged anyone who is in doubt of his present status in ANLCA to visit the ANLCA Secretariat to find out for himself adding that if ANLCA has a new or acting President, it would be glaring for everybody to see as according to him,” Is ANLCA a hidden association?’
