By Oyeniyi Iwakun
In a bid to find lasting solution to the leadership crisis rocking the union, the National Executive Council (NEC) of Association of Registered Freight Forwarders, Nigeria (ARFFN) has approved a six (6) months tenure extension to all national executive officers of the association with effect from November 6, 2017.
The National President, Dr Frank Ukor while briefing Journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, 7thNovember 2017, said the decision became pertinent after an extensive deliberation by NEC on the possible ameliorations to the various challenges and crisis that has been rocking the union for about a year now.
According to him, NEC gave the extension and mandated the executives to reconcile every member, hold annual general congress and conduct free, fair and credible election that would lead to smooth leadership transition.
The president said the crisis rocking the union was not without the input of external forces, especially some freight forwarding associations leaders who brainwashed and worked in connivance with some ARFFN members with the intention of suing the union out of existence.
While alleging anti-union activities on the part of some members, Dr. Ukor opined that the crisis got to the extreme when some disloyal members headed for court when there was minor internal crisis that could still have been managed within the association; an action he said was against the provisions of the Council for Regulations of Freight Forwarder (CRFFN) act.
“Our constitution is silent on the duration of office for an elected executive but we met at the leadership level and decided to make it five (5) years. I was elected on August 12, 2012 and my tenure is supposed to elapse on August 12, 2017 but for the distraction created by the avoidable crisis in the association, we could not hold elections. It is on this note that the NEC which is the highest decision making body of the organization decided that our tenure be extended by another six months so that we can properly put our house together and conduct an election that would usher in new leadership” he said.
He however assured of fairness and transparency in the entire electoral process. “There would be an enabling environment for the election and as soon the electoral guidelines is out, we shall make it public” he said.
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