Hyacinth Chinweuba
About fifteen customs agents and freight forwarders have emerged as members of the Governing Council of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), following an election conducted at the weekend in Lagos.
All the candidates that entered for the election emerged winners in a sharing formula agreed by the five associations that produced the candidates.
Independent candidates were disqualified weeks before the election in what was designed to pave way for the sharing formula.
The election showed that the candidates of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and those it had interest in scored high votes.
The high votes became clear humiliation for big time agents from Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) who took part in the election.
For instance, Ifeanyi and Increase Uche who are NAGAFF candidates scored 114 and 102 votes respectively.
Other candidates of NAGAFF scored 28, 31, 47, 53 and 60 votes each.
Incidentally big time agents from ANLCA like Chief Peter Obi , Chief Henry Njoku, Ozo Chukwurah scored 9, 8 and 7 votes respectively to emerge winners.
Obi was a former Council member, while Njoku is currently the Board Chairman of ANLCA.
Another member of ANLCA who was dealt a big blow is the current Vice President of ANLCA, Dr. Kayode Farinto who scored only three votes, just like Chief Austine Kelly who was said to have received the backing of NAGAFF.
Farinto was said to have demonstrated bitterness after scoring only three votes while NAGAFF members were coasting home with over 100 votes. Three others scored 1 vote each.
It was an election in which all candidates were winners and no losers.
But even with the election, indications are that none of the Council members will ever emerge as Chairman of the Board as has always been the case.
This runs counter to aspirations by Njoku and Obi who had hoped to assume the position of Chairman.
The founder of NAGAFF, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam who played a big role in the outcome of the election was said to have called on the federal government to appoint a Chairman instead.
The call by Aniebonam is described by observers as illegal and surprising, as it shows that the council members so selected or elected are not feat enough or qualified to be Chairman.
It was gathered that the CRFFN Registrar, Sir Mike Jukwe appears beaten to a stupor in the whole exercise.
Jukwe however beats his chest that the election followed due process, which is also the position of Aniebonam.