‘A Sports Federation President under whose watch Ofili’s Paris 2024 Olympics registration was messed up does not deserve to be re-elected,’ says Sports Journalist, Akparuere

Raymond Akparuere, a renowned and veteran Sports journalist says some Sports Federations President do not deserve to come back for another term following the negative exposure their leadership of such Sports Federations exposed Nigeria to at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games last August.

Akparuere was responding to an interview by Shehu Dikko, the National Sports Commission, NSC, Chairman on SportsVille, a sports programme monitored on Channels Television.

Dikko, in the interview, assured Nigerians that a proper governance structure and a governance code will be set up as part of efforts to reform the Sports Federations and make them responsive and responsible.

‘We are trying to bring in a proper governance structure, a governance code for the federations so that their structure will be fit for the purpose. We want to reform the structure of the federations with a view to bringing in the right people to come and contest as presidents.

‘We are bringing in the framework that will allow only the right people can contest for the president of the federations, it cannot be al all-comers affairs again,’ Dikko said in the interview.

Akparuere believes the Presidents of Cycling, Athletics and Boxing do not deserve to come back to their respective Federation.

‘Dikko is trying to tell us those who have failed in the past should not bother to re-apply, as it were. We all know those who have failed us. Dikko and the head of the NSC secretariat, his Director General, Bukola Olopade cannot tell us they are not aware of those who failed us at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

‘I still see some of them hanging around Dikko showing they are still interested in coming back as President. Those who ensured a Nigerian athlete had to borrow a cycle from another country to be able to participate at the quadrennial games and the federation that ensured that a top athlete like (Favour) Ofili had her name missing from an event she qualified to compete. These kind of people should not be close to the Sports Federations elections,’ said Akparuere.

Sportsnow.com.ng recalls that John Enoh, the former Federal Minister of Sports Development, set up an investigative committee to investigate Nigeria’s negative exposure at the Games.

The Ofili issue was among the negative exposures and the committee indicted two officials of the AFN, former Secretary General, Rita Mosindi and Samuel Onikeku, a member of the board of the Federation and head of the technical sub-committee.

The committee also recommended the sum of $5,000 to be paid as compensation to Ofili.