Gara-Gombe drags AFN to EFCC, Attorney General of Nigeria over corruption allegation, blasts Sports Minister

Ahmed Shuaibu Gara Gombe, the Chairman of Gombe State Athletics Association says he has reported the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, led by Tonobok Ojuru Okowa to both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and the Attorney General of Nigeria over corruption allegation, misappropriation and diversion of funds.

In a letter addressed to members of the AFN Congress, Gara Gombe says the corruption allegation in the federation is yet to be resolved and that he has sought legal advice regarding his next step.

‘The corruption allegation in AFN, the Audit Report in particular and many other inditing issues in AFN remain unresolved. No one should think it is over, in fact it is just the beginning. I have personally asked my lawyers to look at all the issues for a legal opinion,’ said Gara Gombe and warned of an operation ‘Take Back the AFN’ from ‘those who think that AFN or Nigerian Athletics is their birth right to do as they like must have a rethink.’

Gara Gombe added that the leadership of the AFN has continued to take the Congress, the highest decision making arm of the federation for granted.

‘The leadership of AFN and the secretariat have continued to take the Congress for granted. While the executive committee is still in disarray, confused, divided and unaccountable, the Congress, the highest decision making body is being treated with disdain. We have no information about anything, our finances, our programmes, our constitution, about almost everything.

‘We only wake up to hear or read about AFN but not carried along about decision making because the secretariat thinks that the only thing we need to know is about obituary.

‘Athletes that participated at the African Games in Accra, Ghana have not been paid till today. We are being deceived to think that those qualifying for the Olympics these days have been made possible through the efforts of the AFN or the Federal Ministry of Sports and people are celebrating while others are taking credit, whereas the credit goes to the athletes themselves for their individual and collective sacrifice for Nigeria as a country,’ wrote Gara Gombe.

He revealed that he has personally written to the EFCC Chairman and the Attorney General of the Federation on the happenings in AFN.

The Minister of Sports, unfortunately, is not ready to fix the problems in AFN. In fact he has taken side and if otherwise I want him to prove me wrong.’

The AFN has been embroiled in crisis since the report of an audit committee set up by a resolution of the board of the federation, was released in October 2023.

The report revealed the level of malfeasance in the AFN, detailed how the Premium Bank Sponsorship money was used to refund Okowa for a purported loan that was neither tabled before the board nor approved by the board.

The Secretary General admitted to violating some terms of the agreement with the bank and revealed, without the board’s knowledge, that N15,900m was borrowed from the money to prosecute Nigeria’s participation at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary last August.