ACF crisis deepens as BOT, scribe clash over tenure

The Arewa Consultative Forum is enmeshed in a fresh leadership dispute as its Board of Trustees insisted that the tenure of some top officials, including the Secretary-General, Murtala Aliyu, has expired, while the embattled scribe maintains he remains validly in office. The Chairman of the BOT, Bashir Dalhatu, in a public address on Wednesday, indicated contrary to reports of a leadership crisis, recent developments in the forum were the outcome of efforts to enforce constitutional provisions on tenure limits and leadership succession.

The ACF Constitution stipulates a single six-year tenure for BOT members, while members of the National Executive Council are to serve a three-year term, renewable once. based on him, the BOT was alerted earlier in the year to possible breaches of these provisions through a petition by “Concerned Members,” a group indicated to include former Secretary-General, Anthony Sani. He showed the matter was discussed at a BOT meeting held on April 23, 2026, where it was resolved that the tenure of officials who assumed office in March 2020 had lapsed on March 10, 2026. Those affected, he listed, include Senator F.

Orti, Deputy Chairman of the BOT; Ambassador Ibrahim Sule, Vice Chairman of the BOT; Senator Ibrahim Ida, Deputy Chairman of the National Executive Council; and Murtala Aliyu, Secretary-General. “Their positions have, from March 10, 2026, become vacant in line with the constitution,” Dalhatu showed. Although Aliyu was granted time until May 15 to conclude handover processes, he had declined to step aside, describing him as the only affected official resisting the decision. “In a baffling twist, Mallam Murtala Aliyu, now in his seventh year as Secretary-General, has rejected the resolution and continues to hold on to office,” Dalhatu indicated.

The BOT chairman further indicated that attempts were made to resolve the matter amicably, including a meeting of elders convened by Haliru Akilu and hosted by Mahmud Ahmed on April 21, 2026. He, however, accused Aliyu of escalating the situation by convening an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee scheduled for May 6, allegedly to overturn the BOT’s. Of financial impropriety within the forum, insisting that all funds under the ACF Endowment Fund were intact and managed transparently. He indicated oversight committees headed by Hassan Adamu and former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed D. Abubakar, had been constituted to ensure accountability through periodic public reports.

Meanwhile, when contacted, Aliyu defended his continued stay in office, insisting that his tenure remained valid based on due process and documented reappointment. “I was appointed Secretary in March 2020, inaugurated in August 2020, re-elected in July 2023 and inaugurated in December 2023. I have documents to support all these,” he told The that the ACF, a prominent northern socio-political organisation, has historically played a key role in articulating the interests of the region on national issues, often serving as a rallying platform for political, traditional and business leaders across Northern Nigeria.

In recent years, the forum has been involved in advocacy on security challenges, governance and national unity, while also undergoing internal reforms aimed at strengthening its institutional framework.

The current dispute appears rooted in differing interpretations of constitutional provisions on tenure limits, particularly whether re-election resets the tenure clock or remains subject to an overall maximum duration.