The Association of Igbo Maritime Practitioners in Nigeria (ASIMPIN) has maintained that the introduction of biometric identification is not to disenfranchise any member during election but to guide against what happened in the median election of the association where people came from all over the place to vote.
Addressing the press on Tuesday at a press briefing, the National Publicity Secretary of the apex Igbo maritime practitioners association in the country, Dr. Obicee Okonkwo explained that the idea of biometrics for the association is to have a proper database of its membership, authenticate its records nationwide and also give every bonafide member who must belong to a chapter a genuine identification card which would used for identification during any election of the elections.
Dr Okonkwo disclosed that ASIMPIN executive led by HRM, Eze Amb. Damian Obianigwe had already contracted a private company to carry out the biometrics capturing for its members and executives through the chapters nationwide and had gone ahead to distribute forms to the respective chapters to be obtained with the sum of N1,000 only before biometrics capturing.
Also speaking at the conference, the National General Secretary of ASIMPIN, Prince Okey Egbuchulam said the association at a a National Executive Council Meeting held at the Villa Park Hotel last September had decided to conduct elections, however, to curb the fraudulent practice of importing voters and non- members from outside the association just for the sake of voting; it was agreed that ASIMPIN’s Electoral Committee (ASIMPEC) will only be inaugurated after the biometrics and membership forms from respective chapters have been completed.
Meanwhile, ASIMPIN leadership has insisted that any Elders’ Forum within the association is proscribed, as they national secretary of the association explained that the forum is an illegitimate platform that is not recognized anywhere in the ASIMPIN constitution, advising members to distanced themselves from the group as they don’t belong to any recognized chapter.
The ASIMPIN Elders’ Forum had earlier in one of its press briefings alleged that the biometrics capturing and manual registration of members were fashioned to manipulate the electoral process.
However, Dr. Obicee Okonkwo went further to say that to be a member of ASIMPIN, one must first be a member of a Chapter before laying claim of being a member of the whole body. “You can verify from the ASIMPIN constitution and other legitimate members of the association if there is any provision for Elders’ Forum in the constitution because there is nothing like that; So before we begin to interrogate what these individuals said, we should note that they had no right to speak in any capacity on behalf of ASIMPIN”.
Dr. Obicee Okonkwo, who dismissed the relevance of Elders’ Forum insisted that since they can not identify any chapter where their membership is domiciled and where they pay their dues and levies as financially up to date members, they have no locus standi to speak on or for ASIMPIN and its leadership.
The National Publicity Secretary of ASIMPIN, Dr. Obicee Okonkwo also cited Article 7, Section B of the Association’s constitution which reads thus, ” MODE OF ELECTION: The mode of election into any office of ASIMPIN shall be by secret ballot. The National Executive shall be by collegiate while Chapter executives shall be elected by all Chapter registered financially up to date members”.
He further explained that going by the constitution, fresh national elections would be conducted after the chapter elections are held, adding that interested aspirants must be members of a Chapter; and financially up to date members. He advised those according to him “seeking for lost relevance” to first identify themselves with a chapter and pay the necessary dues and levies before aspiring to be in the national executive.
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