ACF Axes Chairman Over Anti-Tinubu Remarks

• Bwala says President doesn’t meddle in Forum’s internal affairs 

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has suspended its Chairman Mamman Osuman following widespread reactions across the country after the northern body criticised President Bola Tinubu’s policies for impoverishing the North.

The ACF also stressed in its communique that the interests of the North would be best represented by Northerners.

In the communiqué issued at the end of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Kaduna on Wednesday, the Forum expressed dissatisfaction with the current economic policies, which, according to the forum, worsened conditions in Northern Nigeria.

Signed by ACF’s National Publicity Secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad-Baba, the communiqué also called on the President to review and reassess his administration’s economic policies to ensure they are more compassionate, considering the current hardships Nigerians are enduring.

According to him; “I do admit that some policies of the current administration are repugnant and adverse to our interests as a region.  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.”

But suddenly things went awry and in a shocking flip-flop, the ACF suspended Osuman in a letter signed by its Secretary-General, Murtala Aliyu, saying; “The attention of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has been drawn to widely reported statements credited to Mr Mamman Mike Osuman, SAN, OFR, Chairman, ACF National Executive Committee, which were made during the meeting of the NEC, held on Wednesday, November 2024, at ACF Headquarters, Kaduna.

“In particular, Mr. Osuman was quoted as saying that the North will back a northern candidate for the Presidency, come 2027. The statements were made by the NEC chairman without consulting or discussing with other leaders and members of the ACF and thus, reflected Mr. Osuman’s personal opinion only.”

Further distancing itself from the suspended Chairman’s comments, the statement said; “ACF rejects Mr Mamman Mike Osuman’s statements in their entirety. For this reason, the leadership of the ACF’s Board of Trustees (BOT) and that of its NEC has decided to place Mr. Mamman Mike Osuman on suspension with immediate effect. A committee has been constituted for further investigations.”

But reacting to the latest developments with the ACF, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, said the President has so much on his table to make Nigeria work than meddling in the internal affairs of the ACF.

He said; “There is no need for the President to have a say because they (ACF) are calling for an Arewa person to run for President. That means the Arewa person can run from any political party.

“The simple answer is that we don’t want to heat the polity. We have not gotten to the point where people will be talking about 2027. We are focused on providing good governance to Nigeria.”

Bwala said Tinubu was focused and dedicated to tackling critical challenges currently facing the country, pointing to his recent participation in the G20 Summit in Brazil, adding; “The President is very much committed to ensuring we deal with hunger, extreme hunger and climate change problem. That is why he flew to Brazil to interface with the G20 dealing with global governance reform, and the global governance reform has now come up with a focus.

“The focus is on hunger, poverty, and climate change. That is what the President is focused on. The President is not focused on 2027.”