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Ozekhome Lauds Pmb, Dalung For Bash Ali Guinness World Record Fight
Senior Advocate of Nigeria Chief Mike Ozekhome has praised President Muhammadu Buhari for ensuring that the Bash Ali Guinness World Record fight is staged in the country in the next ninety days.
The Human rights activist made this known on Tuesday when the Minister of Youth and Sports Barrister Solomon Dalung inaugurated the re-constituted 22-man Local Organizing Committee in Abuja.
Ozekhome also praised the Minister for his support in ensuring that the Guinness World record fight comes fruition. The Constitutional lawyer who is also a member of the Local Organizing Committee said previous plans to stage the fight had been in place for the past 16 years without success and thanked President Buhari and the Minister for making it a reality.
“You have made history not just for yourself but also for Nigeria. The reason is simple. What you have midwifed here has been in its embryonic stage for 16 years. Minister after Minister and government after government, they failed Bash Ali and they failed the nation. Even if this is your only achievement, Hon. Minister, posterity will remember you.
“Bash Ali will not just participate but he will win and enter the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest boxer to fight for a title at 63.
“Bash Ali started boxing as a professional not as an amateur and by 2004, he became the undisputed Cruiser weight champion of the world. Then he wanted to be the oldest boxer to step into the ring but a lot of forces were against it. He went through horrible experiences to the journey path of today where the Minister is inaugurating this LOC. We have been on this fight for 16 years. Bash Ali has been to Kuje prison. He has been beaten up all because he wants glory for his country. We thank the government of Mr President Muhammadu Buhari for allowing this fight to come through. A lot of people think I only criticize the government but when they do something good, I also praise the government. This is something good that has come from President Buhari and God has used the Minister to actualize this Guiness World record fight”.
Inaugurating the Committee, Barrister Dalung commended the Cruiser weight Champion Bash Ali for his unflinching commitment towards the fight.
“I believe that with the requisite backing of the Local Organizing Committee and that of Nigerians, he will be able to rewrite boxing history. I enjoin all LOC members to work assiduously and ensure a successful completion of the assignment by making this fight a reality. It will be great if we can conclude this assignment within ninety days which is the time limit given to Nigeria to host this historic fight”.
On terms of reference, the Minister charged the LOC to galvanize resources of support and funding through marketing and promotion to meet the immediate demands of the Approving Boxing Union, logistics and events management; to immediately re-invite to Nigeria, the President of the World Boxing Federation, the President of International Boxing Union and the Pay Per View television operators for business discussion; to use a befitting venue in any state in Nigeria to host the historic fight and to undertake the packaging of the historic fight in an efficient, effective, transparent and accountable manner.
In his closing remark, Bash Ali thanked everyone who had assisted him in his trying moments.
“ In my struggle to get this fight recognized , I thank all those who contributed financially, morally and otherwise to ensure that this fight is actualized. I thank the Honourable Minister for his support and I promise to make my country proud and put Nigeria’s name in the Guinness book of Records”.
The reconstituted LOC comprising 22 persons has the Minister of Youth and Sports Barrister Solomon Dalung as the Chairman and Dr Ademola Areh, Director Grassroots Sports department as the Secretary.
Other members include Chief Ozekhome, Chief Kenny Martins, the Chairman House Committee on Sports, the Chief of Staff to the President, Chairman Channels Television, Group Managing Director of Daar Communications, Directors General of FRCN and NTA, Executive Secretary National Lottery Trust Fund and the CEOs of Bank of Industry, Transcorp Hilton, Globacom and Nexim.
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North East Commission; Group Heads For Court Over Reappointment of Former MD. Mohamed Alkali
…. Exposed How Billion was looted
Crises situations in the North East, might assume another dimension, as the North East Commission statutory established to address humanitarian crisis and infrastructural deficit, as a result of insurgency , is embedded in management crises over the appointment of the management Director.
Just as the Reappointment of Mohammed Alkali Goni, after serving his five years as tenure in office as the managing Director has become a matter of litigations, allegations of mismanagement of resources in the Commission has emerged over the weekend in Abuja .
Addressing newsmen, in Abuja on Saturday, North East pressure Group, said that the appointment of management Staff of the Commission has been politicise to a level where every appointment zone to the North East has been taken over by Borno state
The Coordinator of the group , Dr. Haruna Garus Gololo, a political activist, who led the group in a terse press Statement said that the group will be left with no option than to approach the Court to seek redress , if the concerned authorities failed to address the rot in the Commission.
” We are constraint, to draw the attention of the President and Commander of the Armed Forces, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, to the abuse of the Act. establishing the North East Commission ( NEC), by his Vice president, Senator Kashim Shettima over the statutory appointment of the managing Director of the Commission “
” The Act . clearly defined the procedures and laid down rules on the appointment of the Managing Director upon the approval by the National Assembly, which stipulates five years tenure, it is this act that has been subjected to gross Constitutional abuse with the Reappointment of Alkali, after years in Office ” he said.
Dr. Gololo, also an All progressive Congress ( APC), Chieftain said that
” Since the inceptions of this administration, every Federal appointments meant for North East is being taken to Borno state with impunity .”
Continue, the one coordinator of the All progressive Congress (APC), pointed at the appointment of the Minister of Agriculture and the recent Reappointment of Mohammed Alkali Goni, for another five years as against the Constitutional provisions “
” There are about six states in the North East, Gombe , Bauchi, Yobe and Borno, but all the appointment have been to Borno”
He warned that” we have concluded our investigations using some auditors and discovered the billions of stolen in the Commission, rather than addressing the challenges in North East, the management has become part of the crises because of their desperation to cover up the monumental Corruption”
Gololo, accused the Vice president, Senator Kashim Shettima of the implications of supporting the Reappointment of Alkali, as this may further create another crises in the Commission.
” We are given the presidency only Seven days to reverse the Reappointment of Alkali, because it is the turn of Gombe state, we have competent people in Gombe and Bauchi “
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