Kebbi military widows, Nigerian Legion trade blame over association’s leadership

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The Military Widows Association of Nigeria, Kebbi State chapter, is divided over the leadership of the association following the emergence of a new executive.

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The former State Coordinator of MIWA, Hajiya Asma’u Kanoma, rejected the new executive, alleging that the Nigerian Legion dissolved the existing leadership and conducted an election without constitutional authority.

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However, the Nigerian Legion, Kebbi State Council, has dismissed the allegation, insisting that the election was conducted pursuant to a directive from its national leadership and duly supervised by relevant authorities.

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The State Chairman of the Legion, Alhaji Ahmed Shehu-Matawalle, made the clarification on Tuesday at a press briefing in Birnin Kebbi.

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Shehu-Matawalle said the national leadership of the Nigerian Legion had summoned MIWA and Legion executives from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to Abuja to deliberate on the restructuring of the associations.

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According to him, the meeting resulted in a directive for the dissolution of the existing MIWA state executives and the conduct of fresh elections across the states.

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“The leadership of the Nigerian Legion summoned all the 36 state executives and the FCT from MIWA and the Nigerian Legion to converge in Abuja for a meeting to restructure the associations,” he said.

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He added that following the meeting, the existing MIWA state executives were dissolved and fresh elections ordered under the supervision of the Nigerian Legion.

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“We abided by the directive from the national body of the Legion and organised the election here in Kebbi State,” Shehu-Matawalle said.

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He disclosed that the Kebbi election was held on June 18, 2026, under the supervision of the Nigerian Legion and the Kebbi State Government.

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Shehu-Matawalle further explained that the former MIWA leadership participated in the election but failed to secure victory, leading to the emergence of Hajiya Maryam Garba as the new State Coordinator.

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Other officials elected, according to him, included Aisha Sani-Ibrahim as Assistant Coordinator and Jummai Bango as Secretary.

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The Legion chairman urged MIWA members and other stakeholders to respect the outcome of the election, insisting that the process was not an imposition.

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“There was no imposition of leadership. The new executives emerged through an election conducted at the state level in accordance with the directive of the national leadership,” he said.

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His comments followed Kanoma’s earlier position that MIWA was an independent national association with its own constitution and leadership structure.

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Kanoma had maintained that the tenure of her executive had not expired and argued that the Nigerian Legion had no constitutional power to dissolve the association’s leadership or organise an election for it.

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“The Nigerian Legion has no constitutional power to dissolve our executive or conduct elections for us,” Kanoma had said.

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She also disclosed that the national leadership of MIWA had written to the Chairman of the Nigerian Legion, seeking the cancellation of the purported election and recognition of the existing executive.

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Kanoma appealed to the Kebbi State Government and other relevant authorities to intervene in the dispute and prevent the disagreement from escalating.

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The development has left two groups claiming legitimacy, with the former leadership rejecting the June 18 election while the newly elected executive enjoys the backing of the Kebbi State Council of the Nigerian Legion.

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