The Incorporated Board of Trustees of Igala Cultural Development Association (ICDA) has urged the leadership of the Caretaker Committee of the organisation under the leadership of Comrade Omata Emmanuel, a former NLC Chairman, Kogi State, not to be distracted by a “kangaroo election and annual general meeting (AGM)” purportedly conducted on October 2, 2021 by an outlawed group.
In a statement signed by Dr Omakoji Simeon Oyiguh, the Chairman of the Incorporated Trustees of ICDA at the weekend and made available to journalists in Lokoja, the Caretaker Committee were instructed to go ahead with its mandate and leave no stone unturned in its bid to install the improved ICDA that will be the choice of Igala people.
The Incoporated Trustees leadership stated that all their actions were in consonance with the constitution of the association and in tandem with the advice of the Acting Chairman of Igala Area Traditional Council, Eje of Dekina, HRH, Dr Usman Obaje OON, including critical stakeholders who had wanted a peaceful resolution to the impasse created by the disbanded executive council of the association led by Sadiq Amodu Abubakar.
“Recall that the Incorporated Board of Trustees requested you (Chairman Caretaker Committee) to slow down on prosecuting the mandate of the Caretaker Committee following the intervention of Eje Dekina, HRH, Dr Usman Obaje, the Acting Chairman of Igala Area Traditional Council.
“The Incorporated Board of Trustees cooperated very well with Professor Stephen Ocheni to provide a draft harmonised constitution of the Association for a new ICDA to emerge. Unfortunately, the other group has backed out of the process which was to ensure that the constitution to be ratified at an Annual General Meeting is to measure of up to be called the constitution of the Igala people.
“The Incorporated Board of Trustees hereby directs the caretaker committee to immediately continue to prosecute its mandate , particularly the facilitation of the adoption of a constitution that will be almost rancour free, taking into consideration the suggestions already in the public domain,” the statement reads.
In addition, the incorporated trustees leadership has directed the caretaker committee, as a matter of urgency, to report the evidence of abuse of Article 10 of the ICDA Constitution by erstwhile leadership of the association to any security or anti-grant agency of their choice for prosecution.
It could be recalled that while the process of harmonisation and reconciliation, as advised by the Acting Chairman of Igala Area Traditional Council, Dr Usman Obaje was in progress, a factional group led by one Sadiq Amodu Abubakar organised an AGM of the association, conducted an election on 2nd October and installed himself as the new president of the organisation in defiance of the ongoing process.
According to the BoT leadership, among others, the said Sadiq Amodu Abubakar has not been able to account for one hundred and eighteen million naira (N118M) he allegedly collected and dumped into an account that he opened, without the knowledge and approval of the leadership of Board of Trustees.
