*Those disqualified did not meet requirements, says Chair
The Central Association of Nigerians in the UK (CANUK) is currently in phrenzy over alleged bully, imposition and harassment of members of the group by its leaders ahead of the election and the Annual General Meeting (AGM) slated for Saturday, June 14, 2025.
It was alleged that the current Chairman of the association, Ayo Akinfe who has been Chairman since May 2021 singlehandedly installed all 11 electoral officials against what is stipulated in the constitution.
CANUK was founded in 2005 to promote unity among Nigerians in the United Kingdom but it’s said that the group has been facing issues due to highhandedness.
Some members of the group are accusing the chairman, and the Electoral Committee of being complicity, raising an alarm that the organisation risks being reduced to a platform for advancing personal agendas.
Peper-Hade Shoyemi who is contesting as the Chairman, CANUK, lamented that he was disqualified without any stated reason, despite meeting all the criteria.
He said: “I was disqualified by former of Southwark Mayor, Michael Situ who is the Chair of the Electoral Committee and my opponent was given three attempts to resubmit his form.
“CANUK constitution was amended in 2013 and 2020 respectively but the current Canuk Chair manipulated everybody and brought out someone who has spent four years as executive to continue to serve against what the constitution stipulated.
He added: “Three factions were indirectly in existence and Ayo gave one name and we decided the rest should be called Yoruba Caucus, Chair’s group and the neutral.
In a letter to the Secretary Electoral Committee, Canuk, Abi Bada, who is vying for the position of Assistant Secretary General, Bashar Abdullahi alleged that Ily Maisanda and Judy Akuta are ineligible to contest under the CANUK Electoral Committee rules, specifically the functions of the CANUK EC, Clauses 10 and 16, which disqualify individuals who have served as a member of the executive committee for four years.
He alleged that certain candidates submitted their nomination forms after the official deadline, aided by members of the Electoral Committee, in direct violation of the established electoral procedures.
“According to the CANUK Executive Committee Elections 2025 guidelines, only candidates and voters from associations registered and financially up-to-date for the past two years (2023 and 2024) are eligible to contest and vote. Accordingly, organisations such as the Nigeria Student Society and the Nigerian Youth in Diaspora Organisation do not meet these requirements and should not be permitted to field candidates or participate in the voting process.”
“The actions of the Electoral Committee exhibit clear bias and compromise the integrity of the election. We therefore respectfully request that the current committee step down and that an independent and impartial Appeal Committee be constituted to ensure fairness and transparency.
“We trust in your commitment to justice and equity and respectfully seek your intervention to uphold the founding principles of CANUK. Injustice to one is indeed injustice to all.
When The Guardian reached out to Akinfe, he said: “I think I should sue these people for making libelous claims. CANUK constitution is clear. The executives agreed to the electoral committee. We voted the 11-man committee chaired by the former mayor of Southwark and we voted 11 people. There are 14 members of the executives and 12 out of 14 voted for the committee and we inaugurated them and we came out with a guideline and those interested submitted their forms while some submitted late and were not admitted. They started making spurious allegations.
“Our constitution doesn’t state that anyone must be a registered financial member for two years. These people are only desperate. There are 21 candidates and three did not meet the criteria and they were disqualified and they started making up stories.”
