ACF debunks leadership change

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has debunked reports of a leadership change in its hierarchy, describing the purported change as false.

This was contained in a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad Baba, and made available to newsmen in Kaduna on Sunday.

The statement said it became necessary to issue a disclaimer as directed by the National Chairman, Mike Mamman Osuman, in order to set the record straight.

It said the leadership of the Forum was neither aware of nor had directed anybody to issue a statement on the purported change.

The statement averred that, “the attention of ACF is drawn to an announcement of a change in the leadership of the organisation. The news is totally false and the purported action from which the announcement derived is unconstitutional.

“Consequently, Mr. Mike Mamman Mike Osuman, LLM, SAN, FCIArb, OFR, Chairman of the ACF, has authorised that this disclaimer be issued to disabuse the minds of members of the ACF, the press, and the public in general but especially the teeming masses of Arewa who have been suffering untold existential socioeconomic hardships.

“Emphatically, the leadership of the Forum has neither authorised, knows about nor communicated on the purported change. The announcement should therefore be treated as null, void, of no effect whatsoever.

“For the avoidance of doubts, ACF finds it necessary to clarify as follows: the approval of leaders of the Forum is vested in its General Assembly, which is yet to be convened for the purpose of filling any vacancies.

“Section 8 (6) of the ACF Constitution empowers the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Forum ‘to give general advice and direction on matters relating to the Aims and Objectives.’

“Any other role outside the provision in this Section is unknown to the Constitution of the ACF. Thus, the BOT has no authority to order any leadership change.

“The power to set up operational committees for any purpose is vested only in the NEC, vide Section 14 of the ACF Constitution. The purported set up of a Constitution Review is unconstitutional.

“The stated Leadership Selection Committee is not known to the Constitution and exists, at the behest of NEC, in the exercise of its powers under item (o) of Section 14 (1). The Leadership Selection Committee is, per se, only a creation of NEC as an ad hoc body, for the purpose of vetting and making recommendations to NEC for consideration and transmission to the General Assembly for approval.

“The last Leadership Selection Committee fulfilled its role in 2023 and since then stands dissolved. It is yet to be reconstituted. NEC is already in the process of reconstituting the Selection Committee. In the event, any action, assignment, function or announcement(s) by person(s) claiming to exercise such putative functional power is, ipso facto, irregular, unconstitutional and will certainly remain unrecognised.

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“Mallam Murtala Aliyu remains in office as Secretary General until a successor emerges in accordance with due process.

“It is highly regrettable that the ACF is forced to issue this statement which may send wrong signals about some leadership crisis in the organisation.

“There is no such crisis, even as the Forum has been aware of clandestine and subterranean moves to engineer one to destabilise or annihilate the organisation, most plausibly by incentivised agents operating from within and outside ACF.

“In conclusion, the Chairman assures members of the Forum, its numerous supporters, friends and well-wishers that ACF’s current leadership will jealously guard the integrity of the Forum and resist any attempt to derail it.”