AFN President Okowa Rubbishes Ohis’ Report, Defends Okon’s Technical Leadership

AFN President Tonobok Okowa has distanced himself from a report written by his media aide, Asein Ohis, which questioned the technical competence of Coach Gabriel Okon and described Nigeria’s recent athletics performances as a failure.

In a WhatsApp response to a SportsNow enquiry, Okowa defended Okon and dismissed the negative framing of the report: ‘It is not [a failure].

‘That man (Okon) has worked so hard, especially with the absence of our major athletes, and came this far. To me, our outing in Botswana was a success. The athletes did not have enough time to constantly practice the check marks and baton exchange.’

The facts on ground directly contradict Ohis’ claims.

At the African Senior Athletics Championships in Accra, Nigeria won four gold medals, one individual and three in the relays. The relay victories were historic, with Nigeria claiming three out of the five relay gold medals available. Such dominance is unprecedented in recent memory and cannot be branded failure.

Similarly, at the World Relays in Gaborone, Nigeria qualified in three out of six relay events, including securing a place at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships.

These results underscore the technical department’s effectiveness, particularly in relay preparation, and expose the hollowness of Ohis’ suggestion that Okon’s handling of relays is inadequate.

By highlighting Nigeria’s relay successes, Okowa’s position dismantles the narrative advanced in Ohis’ report. While acknowledging challenges such as limited preparation time, the AFN President emphasized that the athletes’ resilience and achievements under difficult circumstances are evidence of progress, not decline.

This clarification marks a clear repudiation of Ohis’ portrayal.

For Okowa, the federation’s technical leadership under Gabriel Okon has delivered results that strengthen Nigeria’s standing in African athletics, and attempts to paint these achievements as failure are not only misleading but detached from the reality of competition outcomes.

SportsNow.com.ng further gathered that Ohis’ campaign of calumny may have had the blessings of one of the vice presidents in the AFN, who is keen to see the return of Samuel Onikeku, the Customs officer blamed by a Ministerial probe for negligence in the non-registration of Favour Ofili for the women’s 100m event at the Paris Olympics in 2024, despite the athlete meeting all qualification standards and being crowned Nigerian champion prior to the Games.