An association under the auspices of Concerned Stakeholders of the Kano Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (KACCIMA) has called on the National Body (NACCIMA) not to recognise some people who have been described as an alleged illegal body consisting of self-seeking individuals who are parading themselves as Council Members.
The chairman of the group, Alhaji Abdulaziz Sabitu Mohammed, stated this while addressing a press conference on Tuesday at the state headquarters of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).
According to him, “The concerned stakeholders briefing you this afternoon are registered and fully accredited members of the KACCIMA, adding that most of the members of this group have been part of the KACCIMA for a long time.
“We are here this afternoon to bring to the attention of the local and international partners of KACCIMA the prevailing happenings in the organisation, especially as it concerns the self-seeking and unholy activities of the illegal Council, who are parading themselves as Council Members without any election.
“Unfortunately, many of them are not registered members and/or financial members, saying that instead of complying with Article 11 of the memorandum and Article of the Chamber, they chose themselves without regard to the law.
“Instead of fully screening and qualifying candidates for the election and allocating positions to themselves selfishly, thereby negating the provisions contained in the Memorandum and Article of Association of the Chamber.
He alleged that “They are already politically partisan and their aim is to destroy the integrity of this government’s clear objectives of the state governor, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, whose policy is to derive commerce and investment within and outside Nigeria.’
He hinted that is why they didn’t allow the election to take place. Instead, they choose to occupy positions in contempt of court order and all standing rules and regulations governing the organisation, forgetting that the government has now changed hands for the good of Kano people and Nigeria in general.
“He said, ‘Gentlemen of the Press, you would all recall that on August 2, 2023, KACCIMA was to hold its Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) as per Court Judgement with Suit No. FHC/KN/CS/115/2023 dated July 21, 2023, which was to pave the way for the election of a new set of leaders for the Chamber but was unable to hold due to irreconcilable differences relating to the conduct of the election.”
“Consequently, they nominated themselves and ascribed positions to themselves selfishly, many of whom unfortunately are members of the Electoral Committee of the failed EGM, and to serve for a period of 3 years, which is against the KACCIMA MEMART, which stipulates a 2-year term.
However, when the members of this purported present Council were constituted, several anomalies were observed, but as patriotic and peace-loving members of the Chamber, we kept quiet.
“I am hoping that these individuals who were assigned this all-important task will be guided by a clear conscience and sense of duty in the running of the affairs of the Chamber. But to our dismay, the current happenings in relation to the running of the affairs of the Chamber are proving us wrong.
“The first anomaly that characterised the emergence of this illegal and unconstitutional council was that some of those selected for the task were not members of KACCIMA.
“While some were not financial members as stipulated in Section 10 of the Memorandum and Article of Association establishing the body, the third anomaly was the selection process that produced the Council members, which was also done in violation of a subsisting court judgement as well as the CAMA Act 2020.
“The Memorandum and Article of Association, as well as the CAMA Act 2020, stipulated that for any person to serve in the Council of the Chamber, he or she must first be a member of the Chamber, and to the best of our knowledge, some of the purported members of the present Council are not members of the body, so by the Act establishing the body, they cannot be regarded as its council members.
“The Article of Association also stipulated that for one to be able to vote and be voted in the Chamber, such person must be a financial member for three (3) consecutive financial years.
“And to the best of our knowledge, none of the current members of the Council have met this requirement. More interestingly, some of them were members of the Election Committee of the failed Extra-Ordinary General Meeting, while others were solicitors for the aggrieved parties in the last court case.
While all these were going on, members of the concerned stakeholders were consulting with elders of the Chamber with a view to finding amicable ways of helping this illegal Council come to terms with the fact that it is a product of illegality and the need for them to do the right thing, which implies holding a free, fair, and credible election for the Chamber. We were awoken by the rude shock of the anti-KACCIMA decisions taken by the Council members.
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