A contestant for the position of President of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), Alhaji Shehu Mohammed B. Sule, has rejected the planned inauguration of leadership of the association in Ondo State.
Sule, who addressed reporters in Akure, the state capital, on Thursday called on the national leaders of the association to intervene in the proposed illegal inauguration of the Executive members of the branch of the group slated for Saturday, February 15, 2025.
The co-contestant for the position stated that the said inauguration was an embarrassment to the National Executive of the Association, which directed that the supporters of both contestants should jointly form the executive.
According to him, this gentleman agreement had been jettisoned by one Ali Abubakar Maunde, who is making preparations single-handedly ahead of his purported inauguration and some of his supporters.
According to him, the National President of the Association, Alhaji Baba Usman Ngelzarma, in the company of a few leaders, was in Ondo State to mediate in the misunderstanding surrounding the election, and Maunde emerged as a consensus candidate with an agreement that his supporters and Maunde should form the state executive.
He, however, alleged that since the national leaders left, Maunde has been politicizing the association and labelling him a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to curry the support of some officials of the state government.
In order not to factionalize the association, which he said he became a member over 25 years ago, Sule pleaded with the national body and security agencies in the state to prevent Maunde from holding the illegal inauguration until he conforms to the agreement reached with the National Leadership of the association.
His words, “The immediate intervention of the stakeholders is very crucial to avoid factionalization of the association, especially now that reports of criminals operating in different parts of the state are almost daily. MACBAN is not a personal property of Maunde which is why he needs to be called to order.”
However, Maunde described the allegations against him as baseless and false. He explained there was no election held but that he emerged from a consensus agreement, and he has been abiding by the directives of the national body to draw his executive from supporters of both parties that indicated an interest in contesting for the position of state president.
He added that he shared the 22 member-executive equally and that the inauguration is scheduled for Saturday.
