The crisis that could not be resolved in court of law for two years has been amicably mediated in few hours by Alhaji Aminu Dantata.
It was leadership crises that engulfed Kano Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, KACCIMA, an association of business communities formed for the development of business and economy of the state, which is the commercial nerve centre of Northern Nigeria and sub-saharan Africa.
KACCIMA has been embroiled in leadership crises and litigations for about two years, which was escalated following alleged imposition of a caretaker committee by the Kano state Government in 2022.
BizPoint gathered that this time around, in the process of resolving the tussle, it was agreed that election should be conducted to elect new leadership of the Chamber in a bid to bring it back to life after its secretariat was shut down since the crisis started.
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However, on the election day, the voting could not hold after members of the Chamber, who converged at Babale Suit, venue for the poll, were stunned by the sudden disqualification of Alhaji Usman Darma, a former 1st Deputy President of the Chamber, who was also contesting for the position of the President.
This newspaper gathered that the confusion ensued when the Chairman of the Extraordinary General Meeting, EGM, Alh. Shehu Muhammad Dankadai announced the disqualification of Darma for allegedly violating the rules governing the chamber.
According to Dankadai, the electoral committee decided to disqualify the candidature of Darma for taking the Chamber to court before the former executive were dissolved.
Following the development, the electoral committee suspended the election indefinitely.
Afterwards, it was gathered that the presidential candidate went to court to challenge what he described as unjust disqualification from the election.
In the midst of the pending court cases, the electoral committee scheduled Wednesday, August 2 as the day for the election, but a Kano State High Court presided over by Justice Usman Na’abba on Tuesday, August 1, restrained the conduct of the poll.
The interim order was granted sequel to a Motion Ex-parte moved by counsel to the applicants, Abba Hikima, on behalf of some financial members of the chamber, numbering 35.
In the affidavit in support of the application, the applicants, all of whom are corporate members of the chamber complained of discriminatory treatment and disenfranchisement by the respondent.
They also claimed that the venue of the election was deliberately chosen to be a small hotel room, which cannot contain the business community of Kano State as the electorate.
The court further ordered all parties to maintain status quo, pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Motion on August 15, 2023.
BizPoint also gathered that following the embroglio, some stakeholders sought the intervention of Alhaji Aminu Dantata, an elder statesman, who summoned the warring parties to his residence in Kano on August 2 and resolved the crisis amicably.
Speaking with BizPoint on Saturday in Kano, Darma narrated that after the election could not hold on the Agust 2,bera of KACCIMA were informed that a new date for the conduct of the election would be fixed and communicated.
Later in the day, according to Darma, later in the day, he received a call that he should be in a meeting at the instance of Dantata at his residence at Koki Quarters in Kano.
He said “most of the stakeholders were at the meeting. Sarkin Shanun Kano was there. Former Dan’adala, Isyaku Umar Tofa, Former Commissioner of Commerce, Ibrahim Mukhtar, Alhaji Aminu Dantata himself, CP Kano state, Mukhtar Gashash, Dalhatu Abubakar, Ahmed Rabi’u, myself, Sani Umar, Barr. Abdul’aziz and Barr. Abba Hikima we’re all there.
At the meeting, according to Darma, the stakeholders insisted that an interim leadership should be formed and Dantata must nominate those that would hold the office of the President.
“Then Alhaji Aminu Dantata nominated four key positions comprising position of the President, Deputy President 1 and 2 and Vice President.
“I was given a privilege to nominate positions of the Vice President while the other party was given the chance to nominate the other four key positions.
“We agreed that the nominees in those positions should be new and fresh, who had never been in the system before. I made a comment that if we all agree with the nomination of the fresh ones, our representatives at national level should also be recalled and fresh ones be sent there.The house said there is no problem, they will look into that.
“We said okay, but this consensus should be based on the condition that of any of the agreements was breached, we are going to pull out of the consensus. So, this is what transpired at the meeting,” Darma, a former Deputy President 1 said.
