18 February 2014, Abuja – A splinter group of the Association of Rural Electrification Contractors of Nigeria (ARECON) has dissociated itself from the ongoing governance controversy between the management and board of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
In a statement signed by chairman of its board, Capt. Teddy Arinze, the factional group said it lacked the necessary competence to mediate in the controversy that led to the recent suspension of the Managing Director of REA, Ken Achugbu by the Senator Jonathan Zwingina board on the ground that the association is currently in disharmony.
It thus condemned an earlier media statement from its other faction led by Alhaji Isa Badamasi and Noel Keyen, which applauded the suspension of Achugbu’s, who had been recalled by the federal government through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The group said while it remained stakeholders in REA, it could not afford to get embroiled in the internal wrangling in the agency. It maintained that the earlier statement from the Badamasi led faction does not represent its views which remained neutral considering the possible effects of partiality on the activities of REA.
“Although we are stakeholders, our association cannot afford to become embroiled in a war that it did not start and which has the potential to plunge the REA into the dark days of the past. We are keenly aware that our members suffered and have continued to suffer the brunt of those dark days.
We view the meddling in the internal affairs of REA by external vendors such as Badamasi and Keyen as a manifestation of the sad state to which the Association of Rural Electrification Contractors of Nigeria (ARECON) has found itself,” the statement partly read.
It equally noted that Badamasi and Keyen had been paraded themselves as representatives of the association, which was formed in 2004 and formally registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in July 2005 with a board of trustees composed of eminent persons, having failed to conduct an election that will usher in a new board at the expiration of the last board in 2007.
It also revealed that the duo allegedly employed their illegal positions to embarrass the association, hence its decision to react to their partial stance in the internal challenges within REA.
The statement added: “ARECON as association has not met for over five years now. This association has in fact broken into factions after the failure of several attempts to persuade the sit-tight caretaker committee chairman and secretary to hold an election as mandated by the BOT.
Today, each of the several factions of ARECON has its own executive committee; the only thing that holds the factions together is the efforts by members of the board of trustees to reconcile the dichotomised groups. It is unfortunate that our efforts to bring the members together are being frustrated by the rascally and unprofessional dispositions of Badamasi and Keyen whose tenure and chairman and secretary of the caretaker committee expired in 2007 but have illegally continued to parade themselves as officers of the association.”
– This Day