Shippers Association of Lagos State has inaugurated Chief Mrs. Mulikat Fehintola Sanni as the President of the association.
At the secretariat of the association, inside Nigeria Shippers Council complex , Apapa, Lagos , meeting was held for several hours yesterday Monday 15th July 2024. The C E O, Mulifelong Motors was pronounced as the President after the former president , Evang. Leo Ogamba was impeached by all members in the house .
Confirm News findings revealed that members of SALS no longer trust the leadership of Evang. Leo Ogamba.
Many pundits have been asking why change in the leadership of Shippers Association of Lagos State, Public Relations Officer, Ike Nwagbo divulged to the the media that there have been lots of rumour that there were crisis within the EXCOS. But we can tell you authoritatively that the EXCOS are good.
“The change in the Leadership of Shippers Association Lagos State [SALS] has nothing to do with the BOT of SALS, Cargo Defence Fund, or Nigeria Shippers’ Council. There is no crisis in SALS as the reconciliation team has completed their job and handed over to the 2022 Executive team to direct the affairs of SALS as agreed in the AGM of 07/12/23.
“The claim by Evang. Leo Ogamba that he was impeached because he signed an out of court settlement documents on behalf of SALS as a sitting President is baseless because signing the out of Court settlement agreement does not confer any special right on him as an individual to appropriate any money to himself. So, his claim lacks substance, is null and void as the signing cannot rail road the money into his personal account as the money is Shippers’ money. His signing of the out of Court settlement agreement was only opportunistic because he was not a member of SALS when the case was initiated and upto the later stage at the Supreme Court.
“ The Nigeria Shippers’ Council insistence that Evangelist Leo Ogamba as the sitting President at the material time should sign the out of Court settlement agreement was an administrative aberration as SALS presented a member of SALS BOT [ Rev. Nichodemus Odolo] to sign the out of Court Settlement agreement, since the Registered Trustees of SALS was party to the case. The action of the Nigerian Shippers Council was allowed by the Trustees of SALS for peace to reign in the Association and not to jeopardize the already agreed out of Court settlement with the Terminal Operator [APM Apapa Terminals Limited].
“ The meeting at which the impeachment by unanimous Vote of No Confidence of Evangelist Leo Ogamba took place was a general meeting of SALS, duly published, in the usual channel, the Association’s WhatsApp platform, where EvangelistLeo Ogamba is an active participant.
However, Nigeria Shippers Council has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of SALS as a registered association, therefore, the statement by EvangelistLeo Ogamba that SALS should have waited for the intervention of Nigerian Shippers Council holds no water.
Ike added that the name Shippers Association Lagos State was approved by CAC as an alternative when Lagos State Government objected to LAGOS STATE SHIPPERS-ASSOCIATION (LASSA) which was the name first presented to CAC for registration.
The erstwhile President’s claim to have a letter in his possession by which the Lagos State government withdrew their objections much later after SALS has been approved by CAC and registered legitimately, if any, goes to no issue as it is of no effect. Lagos State Shippers Association does not exist and was never registered by Shippers Association Lagos State.
Ike further explained that Evang. Leo Ogamba’s claim that some members of SALS are not Shippers is direct indictment of himself. He made SALS to lose the opportunity of having the position of Secretary General of National Shippers Association of Nigeria (NASAN) because when he was offered the opportunity to contest in an election for the position of Secretary General of NASAN by the now retired Chief Cajetan C. Agu of the Nigeria Shipper’s Council (NSC), who presidedover the election, he could not submit any shipping documents to qualify him for election into executive position of National Shippers Association of Nigeria (NASAN). He thereafter came back to contest for the office of President of SALS with only one Bill of Lading carrying one used Toyota Sienna. (Copy still in our file) Ike stressed.
“ The people Evangelist Leo Ogamba, the former President of SALS was parading as members of SALS are yet-to-be registered with SALS and therefore have no relationship with SALS as they areneither registered SALS members nor annual dues paying members. These were the same people he tried to smuggle into the Association during SALS AGM of 07/12/2023, which he failed woefully to achieve” , he concluded.
Confirm News later gathered from the new President , Mulikat Sanni who revealed that in her tenure as the President, there are lots of activities on ground.
“ We are together. We are one union. SALS members are already planning to pay courtesy visit to Lagos State Government, Nigeria Police Force and Nigeria Custom along side other federal government parastatal agencies in order to move the association forward” , Sanni said.
- Adegbola Shehu Tijani
