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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
A bitter power struggle has erupted within the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), with its National Executive Committee (NEC) suspending Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Bashir Dalhatu, over allegations of financial misconduct, claims he has denied.
The decision, taken at a NEC meeting yesterday chaired by Mike Osuman, was announced by ACF spokesperson, Tukur Mohammed-Baba and Ethics Committee head, Mohammed Jamo.
They said Dalhatu was invited to respond to allegations bordering on financial misappropriation but failed to appear. “The suspension became necessary to uphold accountability and ensure due process within the organisation,” Mohammed-Baba said.
But, Dalhatu fired back with a sweeping rebuttal, insisting, “There has been no financial infractions committed whatsoever at the level of the BoT. Every single kobo has been deposited safely in the bank.”
He argued the real crisis has nothing to do with finances, but with an internal battle over tenure limits and leadership succession.
According to him, the BoT had earlier flagged constitutional breaches after a petition by “Concerned Members,” including former Secretary General Anthony Sani.
At the heart of the row is current Secretary General, Murtala Aliyu, accused of overstaying his tenure.
Dalhatu claimed Aliyu is “in his 7th year” despite a six-year cap and has refused to step down.
“In a baffling twist of events,” Dalhatu said, Aliyu rejected a settlement and instead convened an “emergency NEC meeting in the hope of reversing the decision asking him to step down,” describing the move as driven by “ridiculous logic.”
He dismissed reports of a broader institutional breakdown, saying, “Nothing of the sort exists. If indeed, there is any crisis, it revolves around one person who appears utterly desperate to remain in charge come rain, shine or high waters.”
The BoT also pushed back against insinuations of financial wrongdoing, noting that funds raised during the ACF’s 25th anniversary reportedly about N9 billion are managed independently with oversight committees mandated to publish regular reports to demonstrate full transparency and accountability.
The escalating war of words now leaves the ACF, long seen as a unifying northern voice, grappling with its most public internal rift in years, as both sides dig in and the question of leadership legitimacy hangs unresolved.
NEC members of ACF had on Tuesday protested the sealing of its Kaduna headquarters by the Nigeria Police Force, describing the action as unjustified and without legal backing.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Tukur Muhammad-Baba, the Forum said police personnel shut down its office ahead of a scheduled National Executive Council (NEC) meeting slated for Wednesday, May 6.
According to the statement, the ACF said it was unaware of any court order or directive restricting its activities
