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By Samuel Torlumun, Abuja
The leadership crisis rocking the Nigeria Association of Auctioneers (NAA) took a definite dimension on Monday as the Caucus of State and Zonal Chairmen convened an emergency press briefing in Abuja to publicly distance the association from a group they described as “unknown impostors” parading themselves as trustees.
Speaking at the NAA Headquarters, the Caucus Chairman Alhaji Garba Japan, Zonal Chairman North Central, representing all six zonal chairmen, the 36 state chapters and the FCT said the association’s legitimate grassroots leadership rejects what they called an “illegal stakeholders’ meeting” held on November 15, where a faction purportedly announced the expulsion of the National President, Alhaji Musa Kurra.
The Caucus insisted that the association’s leadership question is “not a matter of opinion but a matter of law,” citing a July 20, 2023 judgment of the National Industrial Court in Suit No. NICN/BAU/02/2023. In that ruling, Hon. Justice Mustapha Tijjani dissolved the former executive led by Alhaji Aliyu Kiliya after a decade in office and ordered the conduct of an Annual General Meeting and national election on or before October 31, 2023.
According to the Caucus, the NAA complied with this directive by organizing its AGM and national election on October 28, 2023 held in Ibadan, an event in which Alhaji Musa Kurra emerged as National President.
Fatai Shodimu chaired The impeccable electoral committee. The outcome of the election, they noted, was formally communicated to the court and published in Punch Newspapers on November 15, 2023.
“For any group to come out in 2025 claiming they are planning an election for 2026 is not only absurd, it is contempt of court,” the Caucus Chairman declared. “You cannot schedule an election for a seat that is legally occupied.”
Also citing Supreme Court ruling the caucus further condemned the activities of individuals styling themselves as a “Caretaker Committee,” insisting that the Supreme Court had previously ruled that such a structure is not recognized under the NAA Constitution. Despite this, the caucus said some individuals, including one Salamatu Abdullahi have continued to parade themselves under the outlawed title.
“They are acting in defiance of both the National Industrial Court judgment of July 20, 2023 and the Supreme Court ruling of February 12, 2025. This is legislative rascality of the highest order,” the caucus stated.
While addressing the motives behind the alleged attempt to remove the current president, the Caucus suggested that Kurra’s insistence on due process in national auction practices had upset entrenched interests.
“President Musa Kurra has refused to endorse secretive ‘Private Treaty’ deals that dispose of public property for peanuts. He insists that all auctions follow due process in line with BPP and POCA Acts, remain competitive, transparent, and handled by registered auctioneers,” the Chairman said.
He accused certain officials within government agencies of colluding with compromised individuals to conduct irregular asset disposals, proceeds of which, he said, “were never remitted to the government.”
The Caucus also raised alarm over alleged tampering with the association’s file at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), despite the file being under a legal caveat. They accused a lawyer identified as Barrister Shelewa and an unnamed CAC desk officer of unlawfully manipulating the register to insert impostors as trustees.
“This raises serious concerns. We want to know how the CAC file was altered under caveat,” the Chairman emphasized.
At the close of the meeting, the Caucus announced several resolutions which were:
A full vote of confidence was passed in favour of President Alhaji Musa Kurra, described as “the only court-recognized National President” of the NAA.
The Caucus declared the November 15 gathering null and void, stating that the individuals claiming to be a Board of Trustees were “illegally inserted”
into CAC records without an AGM and therefore “do not represent the NAA.”
The Caucus also warned Ministries, Departments and Agencies, (MDAs) not to transact with the “illegal caretaker committee,” insisting that any auction conducted with them “will be challenged in court as a nullity.”
They said the National Secretariat has been instructed to initiate contempt proceedings against the conveners of the November 15 meeting.
The Caucus Chairman in his closing remarks emphasized that the NAA is a professional body governed by law, not “a cartel for secret asset disposal.”
“We stand with the law. We stand with the Supreme Court judgment. We stand with President Musa Kurra,” he said.
The briefing ended with a call for government agencies and stakeholders to uphold due process and constitutional order within the association.
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