26th January, 2017
CANUK’s constitution dictates that it must hold elections every two years and the tenure of the current executive is due to expire in April. Normally, by now, campaigning should have begun to fill the various offices but the whole project is on hold because current CANUK chairman Tunde Loye is hell bent on changing the constitution to elongate his tenure.
Nicknamed Jammeh by his critics, Mr Loye has been compared with the former Gambian president who sought to change the electoral rules after failing at the polls. Today, CANUK’s executive committee is due to meet to fix a date for its annual general meeting in April where a new chairman will be elected and the new exco sworn-in.
However, Mr Loye looks set to frustrate the move and insistent on holding an emergency general meeting (EGM) first, so he can alter the constitution before elections take place. He is also seeking to insert a clause that will allow his outgoing exco to borrow money from the bank to cover any personal expenses he may have made during his tenure.
Last week, the high commission tried to wade into the crisis with the head of the welfare section Emmanuel Namah calling a meeting to seek a solution. At the meeting, it was decided that the executive committee should meet and agree on a way forward but so far, a resolution remains elusive.
Exasperated at the lack of progress, several community organisations including the Nigerian Women in Diaspora Leadership Forum (NWIDLF), the Association of British-Nigerian Law Enforcement Officers, Uncelebrated Nigerians Awards UK and the Ebonyi State Union, have signed an open letter calling on Mr Loye and his executive committee to leave in April as the constitution dictates. They have also called on the CANUK general secretary Dr Olugbenga Coker to call an AGM immediately and initiate the electoral process.
NWIDLF president Jenny Okafor said: “It is unfortunate that we Africans have this sit tight syndrome and are reluctant to leave office when our time is up. Sadly, Mr Loye has decided to behave in a manner identical to Laurent Gbagbo and Yahya Jammeh, so it looks like we will have to force him out.
“His call for an EGM is just a ruse to elongate his tenure, borrow money on behalf of CANUK for his personal benefit and seek to alter the constitution so he can install his cronies into other offices. We find it insulting than an outgoing exco will seek to change the constitution for an incoming one, so we will not tolerate Mr Loye altering one word before he leave office.”
She added: “In the past, all excos have left office after their two-years terms are up and that is exactly what we should be doing here. Unfortunately, Mr Loye is trying to act like Robert Mugabe, Yahya Jammeh, Paul Biya, Laurent Gbagbo and Teodoro Mbasogo who believe that they are elected into office for life.
We oppose the elongation of the tenure of the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK (Canuk) executive.
Read below the open letter written by the community associations:
24/01/17
Fellow Nigerians,
We the undersigned organisations are signed up members of the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK (Canuk).
It has come to our attention that the Canuk chairman, Mr Babatunde Loye, is planning NOT to leave office on the first Saturday of April as the constitution requires him to. In line with convention, Canuk should be holding its annual general meeting (AGM) by the latest on April 8 2017, during which a new executive committee should be elected and sworn-in.
However we understand that Mr Loye has concluded plans to extend his stay in office by organising an illegal emergency general meeting (EGM) in March during which he will alter the constitution, extending his powers. This typical African sit-tight syndrome is not new to us and as a people we have to resist it. We insist that Mr Loye and the current executive committee leave office in April when their tenure expires.
Any amendments to the Canuk constitution shall be the responsibility of the incoming executive committee and we find it highly insulting that the outgoing exco should even contemplate tampering with the constitution and electoral process in its twilight days. Subsequently, we would like to make it clear that any constitutional amendments or tenure elongation for elected officials is totally unacceptable, untenable and will not be tolerated in any way shape or form.
We are hereby asking the Canuk secretary-general to immediately initiate the process of calling an AGM and electing a new executive committee in line with the dictates of the constitution. We remain committed to the service of our fatherland Nigeria and the Nigerian diaspora in the UK.
Kind regards
Ayo Akinfe Jenny Okafor
Chair President
Uncelebrated Nigerians Awards UK Nigerian Women in Diaspora Leadership Forum
07866 164 300 07985 116 595
ayoakinfe@gmail.com cokafor@btinternet.com
Dr Nnanna Igwe Kenny Onibokun
President President
Ebonyi State Union UK and Ireland Association of British-Nigerian Law Enforcement Officers
07984 667 527 07535963819
ellis2001gwe@yahoo.co.uk kayonibokun@gmail.com