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AFN Releases Tentative Timetable For June 14 Elective Congress

Published

3 years ago

June 5, 2021

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has released a tentative timetable for its June 14 Elective Congress, which it sent to World Athletics for approval.

The Extraordinary Congress will appoint and inaugurate a three-man Electoral Commission in accordance with article 7.2.1 of the 2017 AFN Constitution, which World Athletics has affirmed will be used to conduct the elections.

The appointment and inauguration of the Electoral Commission will kickstart the programme for the Elective Congress on Tuesday June 8, 2021 in Abuja.

The AFN Secretary General, Prince Adeniyi Adisa Beyioku says State Athletics Associations who constitute the 37-member congress have been notified and that the AFN has sought the approval of the timetable from World Athletics.

“This becomes necessary following the refusal of Mr Ibrahim Shehu Gusau’s to transmit a letter to the Secretary General to convene and prepare the programme for the extraordinary congress in accordance with articles 4, 6.1.4, 8.3.6 and 8.3.9 of the AFN constitution,’ says Beyioku.

The federation has reported Mr Gusau’s violations of several articles of the AFN constitution and the terms of agreement reached at the reconciliation meeting held in April by members of the executive board of the AFN with two top officials of the Confederation of African Athletics, CAA.

“Both the CAA and WA have affirmed that they only recognise the 2017 constitution which was adopted at the congress of the federation on November 16, 2017 with Mr Gusau presiding as the president of the federation,’ Beyioku further said.

Continuing, Beyioku revealed Mr Gusau has also been reported to WA for disregarding the world governing body’s letter to him that the 2017 AFN constitution is the official document that is recognised and which must be used to conduct the June 14 Elective Congress.

“We have forwarded the purported guidelines released by his Electoral Commission to WA and the communique issued after the disputed congress reportedly held on May 12, 2021 where the agreements reached at April’s reconciliation meeting were rejected including the 2017 constitution which both the CAA and WA insist must be used for the conduct of elections,” Beyioku said.

The WA had in a letter from its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Jon Ridgeon and signed by Carolyn Launios, his executive assistant, categorically denied the purported amendments of the 2017 constitution reportedly carried out at a disputed congress in Awka in December 2019 and warned Mr Gusau it would exercise the powers conferred on it in the 2019 WA constitution if its instructions are ignored.

“To confirm, World Athletics position is that the 2017 AFN constitution applies. To be clear, World Athletics has never recognised and does not recognize the claimed 2019 constitution and so any election must be held in accordance with the 2017 constitution,” the letter read.

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Sports Minister Signs Three Groundbreaking MoUs in Quest to Bolster Sports Development and Funding

Published

5 days ago

April 20, 2024

The Gleamer

..Says the Renewed Hope Agenda offers best opportunity for sports development

Joel Ajayi

Driven by his undiluted resolve to boost sports development in line with the Renewed Hope mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh signed three Memoranda of Understanding, on Friday in Lagos.

Senator Enoh announced that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with GTI Asset Management and Trust Limited to relaunch the Challenge Cup as the President Federation Cup in collaboration with the NFF to reignite interest amongst fans and elevate it to global standards. The renamed competition will involve grassroots teams, create employment for approximately 500,000 Nigerians, engage over 100,000,000 football enthusiasts, and showcase our country’s greatness globally. The President Federation Cup will become President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s legacy championing Nigerian football.

The Minister stated thus “our groundbreaking agreements with key private sector players like GTI are indications of our resolve to revolutionize sports in Nigeria, leveraging innovation, technology, and human expertise.” He thanked Mrs Tinuke Watti, the Permanent Secretary of the Sports Ministry, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, President of the NFF, and Mr Abubakar Lawal and all members of the GTI team for their invaluable contributions.

For the second deal, the Federal Ministry of Sports signed a landmark agreement with top lottery company Yanga Games to raise the revenue profile of the Ministry and ensure a new deal for the welfare of athletes. The Sports Minister stated that “we are partnering with YangaGames to bring maximum benefits to the athletes and all critical stakeholders.We shall give institutional encouragement and support to the Management of Yanga Games to succeed in this onerous task of rebuilding our sports sub sector.”

Chairman/CEO of Yanga Games Mr Derrick David Kentebe said” We are so super excited by this opportunity to work with the Ministry of Sports Development to change the narrative about Sports in the country. We see opportunities for marketing our athletes and sports generally.” He also added that “we shall raise about 34 Billion in the next four years to assist athletes and improve sports in the country. We shall help to develop grassroot sports and sustain youth involvement through raffle draws, fundraisers and other avenues.” Senator Enoh said that he strongly believes President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda offers the best opportunity to promote systemic development in Nigerian sports and the collaboration aims to make sports more attractive to private investors so that it can receive meaningful investments from the private sector.

For the third agreement, the Federal Ministry of Sports Development joined forces with EFFA Management for specific purposes that will enhance various aspects of the sports ministry’s strategic six-point policy framework. When Senator Enoh took office, the Ministry developed a six-point agenda named W.A.I.F.A.R. This agenda includes the welfare of our athletes, activation of sports as an industry, infrastructure development, funding for sports development, activation of grassroots sports, and the reorganization of sports federations to ensure effective delivery. Senator Enoh said that the sports sector is currently experiencing a surge in efforts to improve its performance and the Ministry is fully prepared to establish partnerships that will facilitate this much-needed transformation.

With these three groundbreaking agreements, Nigerian sports is at the cusp of phenomenal development that will further propel athletes and federations towards greater success. Senator Enoh thanked all parties for keying into the vision of the Ministry and stated that the Ministry will continually pursue causes that will lead to strategic positioning for greater development.

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