A Lagos-based lawyer and human rights activist, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), has disassociated himself from the newly formed political movement, the National Consultative Forum (NCF).
The outspoken senior lawyer said that he was not consulted on the formation of the new group and that he did not attend the meeting where the forum was launched.
A communiqué some members of the new political group issued in Abuja, on Wednesday had listed Falana among the 30 prominent Nigerian activists, professionals and academics that formed the movement.
The group said in the communiqué that NCF was formed with the objective to mobilise Nigerians ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Soon after the group issued the communiqué, a former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) president, Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), whose name was included as part of the new group, disassociated himself also and said that he was not consulted.
Similarly, Col. (retd.) Abubakar Umar, a former military governor of old Kaduna State, whose name was equally mentioned as a member of the new movement denied his membership of the group in a statement on Friday.
Joining in the list of those that claimed they were not part of the new group, Falana, who noted that he was in support of “all efforts aimed at creating an alternative platform with the potential of lifting the long-suffering people of Nigeria from the economic and political stupor,” meanwhile, said he was not carried along in the formation of NCF.
“I also recognise the fact that some of the promoters of the NCF are people who are motivated by the common good. Many of them have made profound sacrifices to make Nigeria a better place to live.
“In this light, I commend what appears to be the genuine motive of the organisers of the National Consultative Forum.
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“However, I observe that my name has been mentioned as one of the pillars behind this initiative. While I appreciate the concern of the leadership of the new group to enlist my support, I wish to say that at no time have I been consulted neither did I attend the meeting where the forum was launched.
“I appreciate the almost desperate situation progressive Nigerians find themselves in the bid to save Nigeria from what looks like an imminent shipwreck. This might have informed the haste with which many honest and dedicated hands find themselves,” he said.
Falana, however, said the “clarification should not be conceived as an opposition to all honest efforts designed to rescue Nigeria from the claws of abject poverty and increasing loss of hope.
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“I wish to add that there are several efforts I have been involved lately and I believe there is a growing perspective that all efforts should be harmonised for maximum impact.”
Other prominent Nigerians aside Falana, Agbakoba, Umar, who were listed as members of the new group include a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’abba; a former deputy governor of the Central Bank, Dr Obadiah Mailafia, Mrs Obigeli Ezekwesili.
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