Controversies trail federation elections

Consequent upon the too many confusion and incoherence in conducting elections into various boards of the sports federations in the country, athletes and managers of the game have continued in their unanimous call for the removal of Barrister Solomon Dalung as Minister of Sports.

The calls were repeatedly made at the Abuja National Stadium the supposed venue for the rerun elections onto four federations whose elections of June 13 were cancelled by Appeals Committee and Rugby Federation which did not have its election that day.

The four federations are Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Nigeria Weightlifting Federation (NWF), Taekwondo Federation of Nigeria (TFN) and Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria (GFN).

While Rugby was said to have held their election the other four federations were thrown into confusion as delegates arrived from their states only to hear without official confirmation from the ministry that there was a court injunction stopping the election without reference to the particular federation.

A board member of one of the federations, a lawyer who spoke with Extra Time on anonymity said no court will grant a blanket injunction to stop elections onto four boards as was peddled at the venue.

He said an applicant can only be granted an Order by a court in a case he is a party to which he has prayed the court to do, adding that if an applicant prays the court to stop elections onto a particular board the Order would not extend to the other federations.

“Something sinister is happening. Minister and his directors are not here to tell us anything. Dalung himself is a lawyer but I am surprised at what is happening in his administration and in this change,” he said.

Reacting also, winner of the June 13 elections onto the Taekwondo Federation, Margret Binga, lamented what she described as wasteful spending the ministry is subjecting them to just because they want to give back to the society.

She said the money spent in the election which was cancelled without any tangible reason and the amount also spent to mobilise themselves to come for the rerun will be enough to sponsor one or two programmes.

“The judgement was really unfair because people spent time, resources and everybody is looking for a way forward. We are talking about Olympics but the year is already going. Countries have started preparing for Tokyo 2020 over eight years ago and Nigeria has not started doing anything.

Now just to get the elections of the federations done is not yet possible.

“For how many months will we continue doing this? Now people have come again, somebody has mobilised to be here and we are positive, they came again and said election has been cancelled. For what reason and nobody is here to talk to us.

They want us to go back like that. I mean if we channel all these resources spent to come here to sports development in the country we will achieve something tangible,” she stated.

In a related development, Olympic medalist and member of the Taekwondo Federation, Chika Chukwumerije, also lamented the attitude of organisers of the federation elections accusing them of disregarding their Elections Rules and Regulations prepared by them.

The ex-Olympian disclosed that the then Secretary General of the federation who was indefinitely suspended for anti-federation activities and there was no contrary documentation to show that it was lifted was declared ineligible to run by those in the screening committee. But when the Appeals Committee came up they said his name was wrongly substituted.

Chukwumerije insists that the decision of the committee was wrong because there was no way she could qualify to run even if she is the only candidate from the zone.

He also faulted the Appeals Committee on its verdict on the former President, George Ashiru arguing that the Rules are clear about his case which bothered on his impeachment but the minister gave him another chance by asking him to meet with his board members and sort things out.

But Ashiru did not heed to the minister’s advice and never called for meeting of the board either by text, phone call or whatever means.

He accused the impeached ex-president of bad leadership that cumulated in his impeachment and added that his claim to secure the South Korea impeached sponsorship is false because the championship has been on for three years before he became president.

While Taekwondo was sulking their wounds, AFN could not hold back their call for the removal Dalung as minister of sports for wanting to impose Ibrahim Gusau on them.

The delegates embarked on a protest march to the minister’s office but came back to the stadium disappointed.

In the same vein, Tafida Gazama leading the Northeast zone said Dalung cannot impose Gusau on them. He said Gusau has no constituency that should qualify him to contest for the president and no attempt by the ministry to impose him on the board would be accepted.

The Gymnastics Federation was not left out in the quagmire that engulfed sports federations’ elections. Supporters of Prince Kelvin Ehizogie pronounced winner of June 13 election in their war song reminded Dalung that he is minister today, somebody can be there tomorrow.

They said plot by the minister to impose somebody on them after they had conducted a free, fair and transparent election is not only undemocratic but portrays his administration in extreme bad light.

Ben Nwachukwu, Abuja