Okafor remains PMAN president as union dismisses suspension claim

The Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN) has dismissed claims that its president, Mr Pretty Okafor, has been suspended, describing the development as false and unconstitutio...

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Published 30 Dec 2025

By Suliyat Tella

PMAN President, Pretty Okafor

The Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN) has dismissed claims that its president, Mr Pretty Okafor, has been suspended, describing the development as false and unconstitutional.

In a statement issued from the Nigerian Music House, PMAN’s national secretariat in Lagos, and signed by the Acting General Secretary, Barrister Elizabeth Gabriel, the union said Mr Okafor remains the constitutionally recognised and judicially affirmed president of the association.

The statement followed reports that a group of members allegedly held a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on December 25, 2025, where Mr Okafor was said to have been suspended. PMAN, however, denied that any such lawful meeting took place.

According to Barrister Gabriel, the purported NEC meeting was not convened in line with the union’s constitution and therefore had no legal standing.

She said the PMAN constitution clearly outlines how NEC meetings should be called, including the requirement that such meetings be convened by the General Secretary in consultation with the president, with adequate notice and a circulated agenda.

“No legitimate NEC meeting of PMAN was held on December 25, 2025,” the statement said, adding that no notice was issued and no consultation took place with the president.

The union also relied on a subsisting court order of the National Industrial Court sitting in Lagos, delivered on October 30, 2025, in Suit No. NICN/LA/48/2025.

The court order reportedly restrained certain individuals, listed as the 1st to 13th defendants, from interfering with PMAN’s assets or altering its leadership structure pending the determination of the suit.

The order, according to PMAN, also binds the Registrar of Trade Unions and bars any action that could recognise or legitimise the affected individuals or any change in the association’s leadership.

Barrister Gabriel said the alleged suspension of Mr Okafor amounted to a violation of the court order and described it as an attempt to undermine the rule of law.

She further linked the leadership crisis in PMAN to disputes surrounding the union’s Monaco property in Abuja. According to her, a former developer of the property, Mr Olusco, has been at the centre of efforts to destabilise the association.

The statement alleged that Mr Olusco unlawfully sold parts of PMAN’s property and fraudulently entered into agreements using the union’s land without authorisation.

In one case cited, it was claimed that a company was induced into a joint venture agreement, leading to the payment of ₦350 million, which later led to a police investigation.

PMAN said the police established a prima facie case of obtaining under false pretence and criminal breach of trust, and that the matter is now under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The union added that the EFCC has invited Mr Olusco and requested details of transactions related to the property.

According to the statement, investigations by law enforcement agencies are ongoing, and the recent leadership dispute is a distraction aimed at obstructing these processes.

The Acting General Secretary warned individuals parading themselves as PMAN leaders on television and social media to desist, saying such actions were misleading and damaging to the association.

She maintained that Mr Okafor remains the legitimate president of PMAN, recognised by the constitution and protected by a valid court order.

PMAN called on musicians across the country and in the diaspora to remain calm, stressing that the association’s leadership has not changed. The union urged law enforcement agencies and the courts to be allowed to carry out their duties without interference.

“There is only one legitimate leadership in PMAN, and it is the one recognised by law,” the statement said, adding that the association would not be distracted by what it described as misinformation and unlawful actions.

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