By Steve Agbota
The Northern Zone of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), comprising of Abuja and Kano Chapters have all endorsed the presidential candidacy of Dr. Farinto Collins Kayode and his team as their preferred candidates in the ANLCA July 5, NECOM election.
The two chapters who play host to the Dr. Farinto led campaign team said with his antecedents and being the only candidate that have come to seek their votes , they have endorsed him and his team as their sole candidates.
At the Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, the ANLCA Acting National President, Farinto said that henceforth each port, airport and land borders will be treated on peculiarity if elected to office.
He told ANLCA members that freight forwarding is a noble profession and urged them to be compliance and professional while discharging their duties.
While asking for their votes and that of other contestants, he said the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government is ready to listen to freight forwarders, as he and some other chieftains of the association are making efforts to make sure the freight forwarding profession is giving its rightful place among profession associations.
“You are very important, you are the one who go up and down looking for importers to bring in goods, you are the one paying the duty to government through your importers, Customs is just to calculate and determine what you have to pay, they are not the one generating the revenue, but yet we are not treated well, especially in taking decisions that affects our profession, this must stop.
“We are happy that we were called upon to make our inputs by the House of Representatives Committee on Customs in the amendment of the CEMA by the last National Assembly, and our prayers were carried in the new CEMA which includes renewal of your license which is now four years instead of yearly , this is the way to go,” Farinto assured.
On the coming NECOM election, the ANLCA Acting National President urged the Abuja airport members to vote for a team that will move the association forward and promised that if he is elected his ten point agenda for the association which includes tackling the challenges faced by freight forwarders, welfare of members among others will be carried out for the benefit of all members.
Responding, the ANLCA Chapter chairman of the Abuja, International Airport, Alhaji Abdulaziz, said he and his members are voting for Dr Farinto Collins, having known his antecedents and progressive leadership he has made in ANLCA.
He said there is no better candidate for the election in ANLCA now than Dr Farinto Collins.
The high point of the event was a courtesy visit to the Customs Area Controller of the Federal Capital Territory Command ( FCT), Comptroller FN Ogar-Modey who thanked the team for the visit and also pray for them to win the election.
Meanwhile to be more closer to his members in Kano and the Northern Zone, Farinto has promised that apart from the Zonal Coordinator North, he will appoint a Presidential Liaison Officer for Kano Chapter and the Northern Zone if elected into office in the July NECOM election of the association.
The promised came after myriad of complains from the Kano Chapter members that the national body of ANLCA abandoned them.
However, Farinto appealed to them that due to the crises that rocked the association in the last five years, which leads to destruction of the the association’s national Secretariat and attack on some members, the NECOM had to put up strong resilience to protect and prevent those he called “Camp Boys” from forcefully taking over the association and that prevented them from making visits to the zone.
Speaking to collaborate Farinto’s position , the respected leader of the Northern Zone and former BOT member , Alhaji Isah Aliyu who said he has seen it all in ANLCA, urged members to vote for Farinto as the only candidate that can lead ANLCA for now.
He inform his members that if not for the strong leadership prowess of Dr Farinto Collins during the crises , enemies of ANLCA could have destroyed the association. He said Farinto is their candidate in Kano and no other.
In their responses, the Chapter Chairman of Kano , Alhaji AbdulAzeez Abdulraman and other members who spoke promised to vote for Dr Farinto Collins team as according to them, is the only team that they know can lead the new ANLCA.