The Eyean Cattle Dealers Association in Benin City, Edo State, has removed the Chairman and Secretary of its Board of Trustees (BOT), Idris Adano and Awall Shafie, over allegations of financial misconduct involving N116 million.
The decision, reached during a meeting of the association’s seven-member Board of Trustees on April 25, 2026, saw five trustees vote in favour of the removal of the two officials. The board subsequently elected Jidda Tahir as the new BOT Chairman and Ibrahim Shariff as Secretary.
The trustees accused the former leadership of failing to properly account for N116 million belonging to the association. They also alleged that the duo neglected key issues affecting members, including the non-payment of about N35 million owed to a company owned by Barrister Dele Edokpayi for clearing debris from the cattle market.
However, Adano rejected the allegations, describing his removal as the handiwork of individuals bent on creating disunity and instability within the association.
In a statement jointly signed by Adano and the association’s secretary, Adam Gombe, the embattled chairman maintained that members had previously passed a vote of confidence in his leadership, citing what they described as transparency and accountability in the management of the association’s affairs.
The statement urged members and stakeholders to disregard the announcement of the leadership change.
But the association’s counsel, Ejiga Paul Enemona, defended the action, insisting that the removal complied with the association’s constitution.
He warned that the new leadership would petition security agencies should the removed officials continue to parade themselves as leaders of the association.
Enemona also disclosed that the association had initiated the process of notifying the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to formally recognise the leadership changes.
