NAGAFF flags off chapter elections in western zone
- Releases election timetable, guidelines
- NECOM boss assures of transparent process
By Ray Ugochukwu
The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) on Thursday announced the commencement of election of officers in its various chapters in the Lagos area, otherwise called the Western Zone.
As a result, it has lifted the ban on electioneering campaigns and processes for the affected chapters beginning from today with the main election starting with the Apapa chapter on August 1, 2022.
Disclosing this to the administrators of the various chapters, NAGAFF officials and the press was the Chairman, NAGAFF Electoral Commission (NECOM), Engr. Chukwunonso Ejikeme.
Ejikeme, who spoke at the NAGAFF headquarters in Apapa, Lagos, promised to deliver a free, fair and transparent election.
Recall that penultimate week, the association dissolved the executive committees of all the affected chapters as their tenures in office got expired and appointed administrators to run their affairs pending the election of new officers.
According to Engr. Ejikeme, after Apapa chapter’s election, that of Tin Can Island Port (TCIP) would follow on August 2, 2022; PTML, August 3; KLT, August 4; and Murtala Muhammadu International Airport, August 4, 2022.
The NECOM boss said with the flag-off of the electoral process, candidates seeking elections should from today (June 3) begin to purchase their nominations forms from the NAGAFF headquarters as specified in the electoral guidelines. The form for the chairmanship position is pegged at N500,000 with other position in varying costs.
“We are here to inform you that the ban on election campaign in the chapters of the western zone has today been lifted. From tomorrow, June 3, 2022, people can begin their campaign for the various elective positions.
“From tomorrow too, candidates can begin to purchase their forms from the NAGAFF headquarters and return same by Monday, July 4, 2022. This means that candidates have one month to buy and return their nomination forms”.
“I can assure you that this deadline is sacrosanct and cannot be changed as we must hold the election as scheduled”, he stated.
Engr. Ejikeme made it clear that any chapter owing remittances to the NAGAFF headquarters up till last April, would have none of its former executive members eligible for election.
Ejikeme, NECOM boss
In his words, “By the electoral guidelines, any chapter that is owing remittances to the headquarters up till April cannot have any of its past executives contesting any position. We cannot allow this, it’s not fair that you do not pay your remittances and you still want to return to office. You’re not being fair to NAGAFF and the leadership”.
He also stated that all voters and candidates should update their membership registrations with the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) before they could qualify to vote or be voted for.
Similarly, according to him, all participants in the electoral process should ensure that they were up to date with their membership registration and obligations in their various chapters to enable them vote or be voted for.
Ejikeme (left) with Simeon Nwosu (middle) Deputy National President of NAGAFF and Barr. Rotimi, member of NECOM at the briefing on Thursday.
The NECOM Chairman, who is also a member of the CRFFN Governing Board, advised all candidates wishing to present their manifestos at the headquarters, to inform the electoral body before hand for proper logistics arrangement. He warned that any candidate who failed to heed this advice would not be allowed to deliver such manifesto.
For a timely electoral process, the Chairman said, “The ongoing registration at the chapters for the purpose of the election will end on the 23rd of June 2022; only members who registered within this registration period are eligible to be screened for voting”.
Ejikeme emphasized the need for a rancor-free electioneering by all candidates in all the chapters and warned that his committee would descend hard on any candidate or group that violated this aspect of the electoral guidelines.
Explaining why chapters like Ikorodu and others outside the western zone were not listed in the election process, he said the tenures of the executive committees in those places had not expired and that the NECOM would do the needful when it got to their turn.
