The Nigerian Medical Association has been thrown into a leadership crisis following the suspension of its National President, Bala Audu, over allegations of constitutional breaches and high handed conduct.
The decision was reached during an Emergency Delegates Meeting held in Abuja, where 63 delegates representing 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory voted to suspend the embattled president.
Audu, who also chairs the association’s National Officers Committee, was accused of unilaterally disqualifying six candidates from contesting in the upcoming national elections scheduled to take place during the Annual General Meeting in Kano.
Although the National Officers Committee defended the disqualification on the basis of incomplete documentation, delegates strongly rejected the justification, describing it as inconsistent with the association’s elished procedures. In a unanimous resolution, the meeting reversed the disqualification, allowing the affected candidates to participate in the elections.
To ilize the situation, the delegates constituted a caretaker committee led by Ekpe Phillips, a former Secretary General, to oversee the affairs of the association pending the elections. The committee is also expected to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Audu and members of the National Officers Committee if found culpable.
Delegates noted that several attempts to resolve the crisis internally had failed, prompting the emergency gathering. They insisted that due process must be upheld to protect the integrity of the association.
Speaking on the development, Emeka Ayogu, Chairman of the FCT chapter, criticized the suspended leadership, accusing it of impunity and warning that the unity of the association was at risk.
Similarly, former Deputy Secretary General Umezurike Ikechukwu described the situation as disruptive and contrary to the NMA’s tradition of orderly leadership transitions.
With the Annual General Meeting just days away, the crisis poses a significant test for the ility and cohesion of Nigeria’s foremost medical association.
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