The ASIMPIN logo.
Story by Dili Utomi.
The rancour within the ranks of the Association of Igbo Maritime Practitioners In Nigeria (ASIMPIN) may finally be coming to an end if feelers from the camp of the executive members is anything to go by. A press conference organised by the executive members with the secretary and the national publicity secretary of the Association as the anchors Tuesday afternoon shows that the apex Igbo Maritime Practitioners Association is set to organise herself and put her house in order.
Doctor Obicee Okonkwo is the national publicity secretary (NPS) of the association and he explained that the reason for the press conference is for “a clear the atmosphere forum where the issue of the so called elders forum of the Association who present themselves as representing the interest of ASIMPIN is discussed”.
Doctor Okonkwo in his address asked the rhetorical question of “are the elders forum legitimate freight forwarders and members of ASSIMPIN”. He asked this question because as he said they do not belong to any chapter of the association and added that the issues raised by the elders council can only be addressed if most of the so called members are members of the association.
Doctor Okonkwo added that “the leadership of Eze Obianigwe was not a hush hush affair as the executive members were duly constituted and that there was room for election at the chapter level, but that be that as it may, there is a process for the conduct of elections as the association is currently going through the process of biometrics in anticipation of the up coming election”.
On the issue of sensitisation of members, Emeka Nwosu, the senior special adviser to the president general, Eze Damian Obianigwe says that people may feign ignorance, but that the process of putting the association on the right path to glory is well and steadily on.
Okey Egbuchulam, the secretary of the association in his contribution stated that ASSIMPIN never recognises the elders forum, that all the allegations are unfounded, that the association must identify who is a member of the association, that the Association of Igbo Maritime Practitioners Election Committee (ASIMPEC), the electoral body of the association would soon be inaugurated. Mr. Egbuchulam noted that the association was registered between 2022 and 20013 and that after some resolutions, chapters were created, he added that up until this moment, no form for any post has been sold at the chapter levels indicating that people are unwilling to follow the right process to membership.
Doc. Okonkwo traced the history of the so called elders council and concluded that they are just a set of self seeking individuals who are craving for relevance and concluded that the election into the national executive of ASIMPIN is collegiate in nature which empowers only the chapter executive members to vote during the election of people into the national executive. The ASIMPIN representatives therefore advise interested members of the Association to do the needful by doing their biometrics, picking up forms for elective offices, campaign and then stand to be elected into the different offices.
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