ACF: Our Endowment Fund To Address Challenges Facing North

The apex northern socio-cultural organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has said its endowment fund is poised to become a major intervention agency to address some of the long-standing development challenges facing the North.

In a communique issued by the ACF chairman, board of trustees, Bashir M. Dalhatu, after its 38th meeting held in Abuja, the ACF said it set up a constitution review committee, among others, headed by prominent northerners.

Parts of the communique read, “The 38th Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, which was held in Abuja on 11 April 2026 and presided over by the Chairman, Alhaji Bashir M. Dalhatu, Wazirin Dutse, and attended by a large number of senior elders and leaders of Northern Nigeria arrived at a number of critical decisions some of which form the subject matter of this statement.”

“After much discussion on the Endowment Fund, established during the 25th anniversary of the Arewa Consultative Forum, it was resolved that two committees be appointed to implement the scheme: a) Advisory and b) Management. Also, the Fund’s Terms of Reference and operating guidelines were adopted.

ACF said, “The Fund, which has received and continues to receive significant donations from eminent Northerners and friends of the North, is poised to become a major intervention agency for addressing some of the long-standing development challenges facing Northern Nigeria”

“After considering the long-standing efforts to review some provisions of the ACF Constitution, the BOT resolved to raise a committee to conduct the review immediately”

“The Terms of Reference of the Review Committee include: (i) Reiterate, reinforce and expatiate upon the aims, goals and objectives for which the ACF was established. (ii) Examine the current organisational structure of the ACF, its merits and limitations and propose any other structure that may help eliminate overlapping responsibilities or areas of conflict in order to enhance the overall efficiency of the Forum in order to better deliver on its responsibilities”

The communique added, “(iii) Examine and propose possible ways of improving the current system of funding, membership structure, leadership selection process and relationships with key stakeholders, including Northern state governments, traditional rulers, etc.

“Make any other proposals and recommendations which, in your opinion, will help enhance the capacity of the ACF to achieve the goals for which it was established. The committee has eight weeks to complete its assignment,” ACF said.