As a nation, we have failed to protect our freight components in the maritime industry – Lucky Amiwero, President, Council of Managing Directors
By MARTINS NWANNE
Thursday, October 29, 2009

Mr Lucky Amiwero is in the middle of a big storm. He is in a storm both in court and among his colleagues in the freight forwarding business in the country, especially in the South West region.
Amiwero is the President of the National Council of Managing Directors, (NCMD), a select group in the clearing and forwarding business in Nigeria.
Those who criticize him, say he has monopolized the functions of the National Council of Managing Directors for upwards of 13 long years, to the extent that “Amiwero is the Council of Managing Directors and the Council of Managing Directors is Amiwero.”

Amiwero is also accused by his critics of banging the door at a Minister, when he was invited for a meeting, after rejecting what he was offered by the Minister.
In this interview in his Lagos office on Thursday, (August 13, 2009), Amiwero fired back, claiming that he was not in any meeting with any Minister, let alone banging the Minister’s door.
He denied allegations of over staying his tenure, insisting that those who accuse him are neither known to him, nor to the National Council of Managing Directors.

He said the Council’s constitution does not stipulate tenure, and that several times in the past, both the government and the council’s membership, had rejected his desire to resign.

What the National Council of Managing Directors stands for
The National Council of Managing Directors started as an unregistered body in 1996. There was a general revocation of licences by the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, and under the leadership of Dr. Rasheed Dipo, the council got back the licences of all former licenced customs agents.

The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents ANLCA, was the only association operating at that time. That was when the National Council of Managing Directors was born.
In 1997-1998, there was an election, for the first time and Oye and Taye who contested, were made chairman and secretary respectively, but eventually, they left for ANLCA.
To be a member of the National Council of Managing Directors, you must be a Managing Director who is licenced.

Your name must appear in the Memorandum and Articles of Association of your company. You must be knowledgeable in maritime issues and matters, as we would inspect your offices and ensure that the requirements under the Customs Legal Notice Four, which are the requirements of the NCS, are in place.
The membership of the council is spread across the entire country. We are formidable, respected, professionally sound and well informed. We are focused and between 1997 and now, we have changed almost 180 government policies.

We are not an association but a council and membership is based on professionalism. We subject ourselves to the dictates of our constitution.

For instance I have given you a compendium of what I have done. People are asking how can I be serving in 160 committees whereas there are ANLCA, NAGAFF and such other associations.
Let those other associations show you what they have done, what they are doing and what they will do, as I have shown mine to you.

Strength of your membership
We are not talking about strength. We are talking about Managing Directors. In the whole country, there are not more than 1000 licences. All the people you see, masquerading as freight forwarders, are not more than 1000 genine licences.

For our membership, we could be 50, 60, or so as the case may be. The staff in my company are not members of the National Council of Managing Directors.
You must be a registered, certificated and fee paying member. The constitution is very clear. The same constitution did not give us tenure.

Why is your constitution drawn that way?
It is because we are a professional body. Tenure can come after you have finished setting up the place. You can then say: “Review the constitution and put in the programmes, including tenure.”
If the National Council was not there, what could have been the fate of the Nigeria Customs Service whom the council saved from the 10 year contract given to Cotecna over the affairs of the NCS leaving only a few things? It was the council that saved them by protesting to the Federal Government.

What should have been the fate of importers and agents? I can give you almost 100 policies of government which we have changed. I have served in almost 110 committees of government.
I am not the first President of the Council. Dr. Raifu Oladipo was the first President of the Council. I was elected President of the Council around 2001 or thereabout. It is not the question of being there but are you accepted by your people. Do they accept what you are doing? Are you doing it well, the problem is not tenure.

Who are the people talking about tenure? Are they members of the council? Can you stay in NAGAFF, in ANLCA and talk to me about tenure at the National Council of Managing Directors. My members will tell me about my tenure and not non-members of my council.
Seven years ago, even six months ago, I told my members that I had only six more months to serve them, and I would go. You can confirm from any of my members.

Why did you want to leave?
You cannot be in the industry for life. I have been able to train people, even though there is no provision for tenure in our constitution. When I said I would leave, people had been agitated, asking whom I am handing over to. Even the government had been asking that question too, who do you hand over to.

Can non-member of your council conduct election in your council?
That is the question. The people you are talking about, are they my members? I do not know them and in my council, everybody knows everybody else. I have not heard of them. From 1996 till now, none of these people had been a member of my council.

Our members know that there are procedures. The constitution gives you the procedure. You do not sit down in your office and announce that you have taken over the presidency of the National Council of Managing Directors. I cannot sit down in my office and say that I have taken over Leventis or announce that I am now the Comptroller General of Customs.

These people who are not your members wanted to force you out?
The problem is that I do not know what they want. It is a good thing because they are advertising the Council properly. The Council is one of the greatest association in the maritime industry.
You allegedly walked out on Finance Minister at a meeting and your men wanted you changed as their leader
We proceeded from Abuja. They wanted me to withdraw the case from court. I did not see the Minister of Finance. The Minister and the people have negotiated. I was invited to a place and when I got there, what was negotiated in Abuja was not what was there.

I made my protest. The man who was presiding, made some comments which compelled me to tell him that I would walk out of his office. He said I could walk out and that was why I walked out of his office.
We came back the next day and I still told him that I am not a civil servant. I walked out of the office because this was not the agreement. Labour leaders, opinion moulders, if and when we disagree, we walk out of any forum that wants to pin you down or force you to accept what is not relevant, or in the interest of your members.

The truth is that as an opinion moulder, there are conditions that should have warranted our withdrawal, since we have been aggrieved.

They wanted to stage manage those conditions and I refused. If you want to force the conditions on me, I resist because we have agreed on those conditions, so we must conclude on them. For us to withdraw that case, there are certain things we must do.

The case in court
I took the council to court because I was not satisfied the way the election was conducted. I did not take any person to court but the council. We went on Appeal. Since the matter is still in court, please let us discuss something else.

I went to court like Oshiomhole, Mimiko, Obafemi Awolowo and Nigerians in similar circumstances did. That is what I did because like them, I was aggrieved.
We will remain in court until things are done properly. We want to make sure that foundations that operate in the maritime industry are structurally and divinely established.

I did not hold any meeting with any Minister. I stand by every decision I have taken in my life. The National Council of Managing Directors stands for purity, honesty and sincerity of purpose.

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