Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), yesterday, sacked its Chairman, Chief Gabriel Aduku, less than one year in office, and inaugurated a new National Executive Council (NEC).

The Northern socio-cultural organisation, at its general meeting, named a new Chairman, Mamman Mike Osman, to replace Aduku.

Besides, in a communiqué signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Prof Tukur Muhammad-Baba, explained that a joint meeting of the Board of Trustees (BOT) and NEC met in Kaduna, yesterday, to discuss matters of interest to the organisation.

“Foremost before the meeting was the endorsement of new ACF leadership, which was approved and inaugurated,” it added.

The new officials are the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT), Bashir Dalhatu; Deputy Chairman, Senator Fred Orti; Vice Chairman, Ibrahim Sule; Chairman NEC, Osman; and Secretary General, Murtala Aliyu.

The Forum’s Spokesman said: “Osman, in his acceptance speech, paid tribute to the founding members of ACF. The new NEC, he pledged, will reinvigorate a new ACF that will be different in outlook and impact as it seeks to contribute to national discourse on issues relevant to the Nigeria Project.”

Reacting to the sack of Aduku, ACF Spokesman, Mohammed-Baba, told newsmen: “My apologies, but no ACF chairman was elected as such. A set of persons were selected and presented, but were never inaugurated.

“The list was reviewed by ACF’s Leadership Selection Committee; it is the final list that was now presented, approved by the joint Assembly and inaugurated. Whosoever that was not inaugurated today simply did not make it in the final list as presented by the Leadership Selection Committee.”

Meanwhile, the Kogi East Elders Council (KEEC) and Arewa Youth Vanguard (AYV) had earlier alleged they uncovered plans by Governor Yahaya Bello to cause cracks in the leadership of ACF and remove Aduku.

The two independent bodies alleged, in separate statements, that Bello did not take lightly the visit of ACF the chairman to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, before the November 11, 2023 off-season election in Kogi to request, among others, the beefing up of security in the North, particularly Kogi, which was sliding into anarchy due to Insecurity.