The Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Admiral Murtala Nyako (Rtd), has urged the association’s executives, led by Dr. Farouk Rabiu Mudi, to champion reforms that will lift Nigerians out of hunger, poverty, and destitution.
Nyako gave the charge shortly after the Court of Appeal affirmed Mudi’s leadership of AFAN. He described the judgment as a victory for Nigerian farmers following a prolonged legal tussle that lasted over four years.
The Court of Appeal, in its July 17 ruling, dismissed a suit filed by Arch. Kabir Ibrahim and his dissolved National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC) of AFAN against the Incorporated Trustees of AFAN and Mudi. The case, which challenged the leadership on grounds of alleged misconduct, was struck out for lack of merit, with the court affirming Dr. Mudi as the authentic President of AFAN, having met all conditions required for his election.
Celebrating the ruling, Nyako called on AFAN’s executive council members across the 774 local government areas to rally behind Mudi’s leadership to confront the nation’s economic challenges.
In his response, Dr. Mudi promised to run an all-inclusive administration. “The storm is over. AFAN will do everything within its capacity to crash commodity prices, provide subsidised farm inputs, create jobs, and reduce unemployment by at least 30 percent within the next twelve months,” he said.
He further briefed the BOT Chairman on some of the reforms being introduced by the executives. These include adopting full mechanised farming, securing loans and facilities for genuine farmers, and engaging critical stakeholders in the agricultural value chain to address the high cost of fertiliser and the growing insecurity that threatens farmers nationwide.
By Ibrahim Garba
