Suspension of ACF chairman, Osuman, faulted

The suspension of the chairman of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Mr Mamman Osuman (SAN) by the Forum’s Board of Trustees (BOT) was illegal and did not follow due process, sources say.

This, they said, did not follow the provisions of the ACF Constitution, which states that any elected or appointed officer of the NEC may be removed through a vote of no confidence passed by two thirds of the registered members of an appropriate NEC meeting.

Recall that the BOT chairman of the Forum, Alhaji Bashir Muhammad Dalhatu and the Secretary General, Alhaji Murtala Aliyu, in a statement on November 21, 2024 announced that the leadership of the BOT and the NEC had decided to suspend Mr. Osuman with immediate effect.

The suspension was based on an allegation that Osuman, during the meeting of the NEC, held on Wednesday, November, 2024, said that the North will back a northern candidate for the presidency, come 2027.

But findings by The Guardian showed that the opening speech given by Osuman during the NEC meeting did not say the North will only back a Northern candidate in 2027.

Instead, the speech, which borders on politics and the 2027 election said, “a sizeable number of our brothers and sisters in the region have demonstrated proclivity towards politics and political offices come 2027.

“They are already focusing on the 2027 elections. While politics is sine qua non in our clime, this present moment calls for the recognition of our region’s plights and strategic efforts for ameliorating hardships that have beseeched on people.”

It further stated that the North is currently under siege, being attacked by bandits, terrorists, kidnappers and sinister devices like disproportionate considerations and inequitable treatments.

Osuman’s speech said though some policies of the current administration are repugnant and adverse to the region’s interest, certain policies and behaviours of the northern leaders need critical evaluation.

“It is in that vein that I raise the following questions: To what extent are our elected leaders demonstrating prudency and concern for our domestic and environmental problems? To what extent are our Governors and legislators synergising with our traditional leaders in combating ills that exist within our Region?

“To the extent that some of our sons, daughters, sisters and brothers are sometimes criminis participis in the disquiet, ills and crimes that torment us in our region, what are we (leaders of thought and stakeholders) doing towards arresting their evil trend and propensities?” It reads.

He questioned whether parents, religious teachers and the elites have initiated an orientation and public awareness that will educate the people on the need for self- defence and self-preservation.

“Illegal minings by foreigners aided by our own people exists in some states. What local strategies are on ground towards arresting this vice,” the statement reads.

According to Osuman’s controversial statement he received an invitation from a new body called League of Northern Democrats (LND), with 260 names of most of whom were former Governors, Senators and known great sons and daughters from the North listed as members

The aims and objectives of the body, he said, are to tackle worsening conditions in Northern Nigeria, a region that has been plagued by endemic poverty, illiteracy, religious and ethnic conflicts, unemployment, insecurity and the collapse of key institutions.

LND said the waning political relevance of their region within the larger Nigerian nation-state is also a matter of grave concern that it seeks to address.