The leadership transition at the IBB International Golf & Country Club has once again prompted the Club Captain, Alhaji Ibrahim Babayo to address recent reports and legal challenges surrounding the issue.

It will be recalled that Golf Digest recently reported that the Federal High Court in Abuja had halted the planned removal of the current Board of Trustees (BoT) of the club.

In response to claims made by Retired General IBM Haruna, Chairman of the BoT, Babayo reaffirmed that the ongoing governance process strictly adheres to the club’s constitutional provisions. Dismissing allegations of secrecy, he clarified that the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) was a rightful exercise of members’ democratic participation and not an attempt to bypass due process.

“The assertion that the constitution was amended in secret is misleading,” Babayo stated, explaining that the amendments were publicly announced in Leadership Newspaper (June 21, 2024) and The Guardian (June 24, 2024). In addition, public notices were placed on the club’s notice board and shared on its Telegram platform, inviting objections within 28 days as mandated by the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020.

Despite no formal objections being submitted to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Babayo noted that the BoT Chairman engaged a law firm to petition against the amendments. However, after careful review, the CAC approved the registration of the amended constitution.

Describing the legal move to halt the EGM as a deliberate attempt to stall the transition process, Babayo asserted that it was meant to preserve the status quo against the will of the membership. He further clarified that the Federal High Court’s order to maintain the status quo does not affirm the BoT Chairman’s claims but serves as an interim measure until the full hearing on April 3, 2025 (tomorrow).