We are not averse to reconciliation, says AFAN President

The President, All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Architect Kabiru Ibrahim has said his leadership is quite disposed to reconciliation with Faruk Mudi Rabiu’s faction as long as the exercise would respect the constitutional principle of the Association.

Ibrahim Karibu said this in an exclusive chat with Food Farm News last week Saturday in Abuja.

He said the reconciliation team led by Dr. Tunde Arosanyin had met with him on the need to reconcile the association for the general progress of farmers which he said has always been the hallmark of his leadership regardless of tribe and religion towards ensuring food security, and well being of members through effective government policy and implementation.

Arch. Ibrahim who commended the reconciliation team however expressed surprise at the new court litigation recently served him through the instruction of the Rabiu’s faction after they might have met with the mediation team, but stressed that he would not resist any reconciliation that had respect for AFAN constitution.

He pointed that the association is not averse to reconciliation to all the members, saying that the date for General Assembly of Farmers ( GAF)  has been fixed for February, while the election into new executive positions also for the month of March just as the committee for the election has been constituted for legitimate members.

A source from the Rabiu’s side confirmed that a committee has been constituted for further conciliation with the main stream leadership under Kabiru for peace to be broker in the Association, and also it was confirmed that the interest of farmers in general was what they stand for as they hailed the reconciliation effort.

The mediation committee led by Dr. Tunde Arosanya told us that he had met with the warring parties, and also the members of the Board of Trustees (BOT) who had given their support to ensure the peace move, adding they had advised that all parties should embrace peace for the progress of the association under the leadership of Kabiru pending the time another election scheduled for March would take place.

 Dr. Arosanyin said that ‘’ stakeholders committee led by me ‘’ Arosanyin’’ has been mediating between warring factions in AFAN and we have been engaging them in the last two weeks. On the Farouk Mudi Rabiu side, we have been able to point it clearly to them that the circumstance through which they emerged as care taker committee is not known to AFAN constitution, and we have implored them to withdraw all their cases from the court as a right step towards genuine reconciliation. Also they should seize from media war. The third one is to prepare for election by preparing themselves to fit into main stream of AFAN under Kabiru so as to be able to participate in the election’’

‘’ We also interface with Arch. Kabiru Ibrahim, and our demand to him is to have a larger heart to see how we can have a round table committee with stakeholders that will also involve the two sides so that we can create  a soft landing for the Mudi’s group when they must have withdrawn their court cases. And that he too should sheath his sword by not using hard languages any longer through the media, and lastly to as quickly as possible put machinery in place that will conduct an election. We have been communicating all these with the two parties since last December until we personally interface with them this January since the initial deadline suggested by our conciliation committee was for Kabiru to round up election by January 15, but he has come up with a time table and we have encouraged him to actualise the time table ’’

He continued ‘’ The terrible thing that happens by the time we met Kabiru the second time this last week was he drew our attention to the letter of litigation from Mudi’s faction which was contrary to our agreement with them. But we are looking at how to get to them as this has complicated our agreement with them towards achieving soft landing reconciliation for them. This has also complicated the approach of giving them pardon like Arc. Kabiru said that if indeed they wanted peace, they should not have taken such legal process again. So that is where we are, but we are also interfacing with BOT members on the way forward, we will not relent at all’’