Zamfara State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ZACCIMA) has been thrown into controversy following the establishment of a 15-member caretaker committee by the state government to oversee the affairs of the chamber.
Reacting to the development, the Director-General of ZACCIMA, Alhaji Lawal Muhammad Tsafe, described the caretaker committee as unconstitutional and illegal.
ZACCIMA is a non-governmental and private organisation governed by its own constitution, which does not permit interference from the state government.
He added that the chamber had already constituted its executives before the government announced the caretaker committee.
“We have duly constituted our executives, but to our surprise, the state government came up with a list of a caretaker committee, which is unconstitutional, illegal and unacceptable to our members across the state,” he stated.
However, the Chairman of the ZACCIMA Caretaker Committee, Alhaji Hassan Buhari Tafidan Maradun, defended the government’s action, saying the intervention became necessary due to alleged irregularities within the chamber’s leadership.
According to him, the state government, through the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, deemed it fit to intervene as many members of the executive were alleged to have overstayed their tenure, while some were reportedly serving civil servants.
“Most members of the management have overstayed their tenure, and some are allegedly serving civil servants,” he said.
