The Farouq Mudi-led All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has said that the crisis being witnessed in the association is taking a toll on Nigeria’s food security.
Mudi added that the challenges confronting the country’s food sector require joint efforts.
Mudi while briefing journalists in Abuja, distanced the association from a malicious publication by one Salisu Muktar against the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Mohammed Sabo Nanono.
He said Muktar was chasing shadows instead of facing the food security of Nigeria.
He said the ministry was working with them (AFAN) to ensure genuine farmers are reached regularly to ensure food security.
Mudi alleged that the list of portfolio farmers has been the one in the ministry leaving the genuine farmers behind.
He noted that the association has commenced the registration of farmers from the grassroots, adding that the list will be handed over to the ministry for funding and other forms of benefits.
“You hear the farmers crying that they have not received anything. We want the ministry to be dealing with genuine farmers because we need to deal with food insecurity,” he said.
Speaking further on the crisis rocking AFAN, Mudi said he was not selected as the AFAN President, but was elected in Kano State by the General Assembly in March.
The Mudi led AFAN and Arc Kabir Ibrahim led AFAN have been at loggerhead for years and the issue has been presented before the court.
Mudi said: “even as interim, the state chapters elected me before the Board of Trustees, I wasn’t the only that contested election during the General Assembly.
“We are no longer caretakers, we are now legitimately elected to have our five years tenure from this year.
“AFAN has no faction because we only have one certificate and that certificate is with our BoT.
“We have filed a motion before the court to stop Arc Kabir Ibrahim, from parading as AFAN President, the opportunity he had was because the court went on strike.
“Kabir’s tenure ended 2019, he was sworn in 2014 as the National President of the Association, having overstayed, we from the state chapter came together (because we are the members of the NEC) and went to the BoT chairman, moved a motion and that was why they removed him. We came as caretakers in March 2020 then we took him to court because he refused to give us all the properties of AFAN including the bank accounts”, he said.
On food security, Mudi said: “when you destabilise the system it is like you are destabilising the whole country because we are talking about food security, how do we feed our nation with the population of over 200 million and because of our selfish interest then you think is about an individual.
“We have set up registration for farmers. When we register them, we will give their list to the ministry for any funding because they are the real farmers, the first query we gave to the ministry was input distribution that doesn’t get to the real farmers,” he said.
While responding, Arc Kabir said the matter is yet to be decided by the court and they are yet to conduct elections to elect their new executives.
“The matter is still in court and they will put a date next week for hearing. We have learnt from the Federal High Court that from next week they will set up a new date for all those cases that were affected by the strike.
“There is no provision for a caretaker committee in AFAN’s constitution. The association is for Nigeria not for Kano. In all the 36 states including FCT, our executive is intact,” he said.
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