By Samuel
The National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Farouq Rabiu Mudi has defended his position as president of AFAN, stating that he assumed office legally and was empowered by the association’s constitution.
In a statement made available to AgroNigeria, the AFAN president discredited allegations that he was illegally elected – claims, which according to the release, was put forward by Arch. Kabiru Ibrahim, former president of the association.
Mudi on the 3rd of March 2020, emerged president of AFAN after an emergency meeting held among members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) at the Roses Regency Hotel and Suites, Abuja.
The NEC in the meeting inaugurated a 13-member Care-Taker Committee or National Working Committee (NWC) where Mudi was elected National President.
The Ibrahim-led administration on the said date was also indicted for contravening the constitution of the group and was forthwith dissolved.
The newly elected NWC had claimed that the tenure of the outgone executives expired since June 2019, contravening Article 13, Section 1 of its constitution, adding that the association did not hold a general assembly as entrenched in its law.
However, former president, Ibrahim claimed in a letter dated March 9th, that the NEC that approved the new NWC were not representatives of the association, stating the previous executives were “unconstitutionally dissolved”
The ousted president said that the new NWC was inaugurated by Admiral Murtala Nyako – AFAN’s Board of Trustees (BOT) Chairman – without querying existing executives “because [of] six disgruntled elected chairmen and a hired crowd levelled unsubstantiated allegations against us.”
Mudi, the newly elected AFAN President, has however called on Kabiru Ibrahim to desist from illegally parading himself as president of the association, upon dissolution and expiration of his [Ibrahim] tenure by the court.
The AFAN President outrightly debunked the accusations by “Kabiru, a former National President of AFAN who served a single tenure of five years that ended in June 2019 as provided by the constitution. The same constitution that brought me into power”.
He further went on to say: “As stated in the Communique issued during the National Executive Committee meeting held on 3rd March 2020, the constitution obliged the association to call a General Assembly of Farmers each year which Kabiru failed to do during his tenure. He also exceeded the stipulated time of his stay in office by eight months with no intention of calling the National Executive Committee for elections
“The court has served the Honourable Minister of Agriculture [Alhaji Sabo Nanono] with a letter introducing the new National Working Committee and restricting Arc. Kabiru Ibrahim from parading himself as AFAN National President. The minister also regards himself as a member of AFAN, being a long time farmer,” Mudi added.
AFAN on March 18th had also issued a legal warning to Ibrahim and his dissolved NWC, directing him to respect the judicial processes regarding the election of Mudi and the new working committee.
Ibrahim was accused of refusing to handover properties and assets belonging to AFAN to the new executives. He was also said to have pilfered and squandered the group’s assets unscrupulously.
Urging Ibrahim to desist from being “anti-progressive”, AFAN President called on the disgruntled faction to work peacefully with the association in order to serve the interest of all farmers nationwide.
He said, “As past president and a father, we will give him all necessary regards and respect. I will advise him not to be anti-progressive at this crucial time when farmers and Nigerians need us the most. Our focus should be on food production during and after this pandemic”.
Speaking with AgroNigeria in April in Kano, Mudi had charged farmers across the country to remain steadfast in the production of food amid the novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) pandemic.
He said the association was working hard to ensure that Nigeria’s food supply chain was sustained, even as the nation tackles the COVID-19 disease.