Body of automobile technicians orders president to step-down

• It is a revenge for their suspension, says president

The Motormechs and Technicians Association of Nigeria (MOMTAN) has passed a ‘vote of no confidence’ on its national president, Suleiman Oseni, ordering him to vacate the leadership position, following alleged violations of its constitution.

The national executive members of the various state chapters of the body, a coalition of Lagos State Motor Mechanics and Technicians Association (LSMMTA) and the Automobile Technicians Association of Lagos (ATALS), made the resolution at a meeting of the Board of Trustees with some state chapters, held in Lagos.

The members alleged that the president and some members of the national executives have been engaging in several misconducts that have violated the rules and constitution of the association, such as self-imposition, abuse of office, outright insubordination, financial recklessness, collection of unnecessary levies and members due from all the zone/branches in the country, among others.

But the embattled national president, Oseni, who spoke to The Guardian, rebuffed the allegations, saying it was a vendetta by the suspended executive members of Lagos chapter to get back at him over alleged financial impropriety and illegal conduction of election, as well as failure to audit their account.

He said he was unaware of the meeting held to remove him from office, saying it was against the constitution of the association. “It is because they were given suspension. In order to carry out their revenge, they handpicked few of their cohorts and brought them together in Lagos to pass the vote of no confidence to remove me from office.

“The constitution states that the national president can only be removed by a ‘vote of no confidence’ passed at the national delegate conference called for that purpose. All the delegates from the 24 state chapters will come together including the national president to deliberate on the issue, it is not done at the back of the president and the national trustees,” he maintained.

Oseni further challenged the aggrieved members to take the matter to court if their accusations are genuine.