Incredible! AFN First Vice President, Gadzama not aware of Kwara state athletics coach, Muritala’s 10 year doping ban

Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, first Vice President, Tafida Gadzama has incredibly declared he was not aware that Kwara State athletics coach, Hammid Muritala was serving a 10 year ban.

Gadzama made this revelation on his Facebook page following reports in Nigerian newspapers that the banned Muritala has been training athletes and even brought them to AFN organised competitions despite the restrictions imposed by the ban.

Gadzama says he, as the first Vice President of the AFN, does not know how and when decisions are taken while board members have been turned to bystanders.

‘The AFN is being run like a secret cult and majority of board members are not aware of decisions taken by the President (Tonobok Okowa),’ revealed Gadzama,
the Sydney 2000 Olympics gold medalist.

‘When any athlete is charged for using prohibited substances, the Athletics Integrity Unit, AIU, will publish the notice of charge and when a decision is
reached, it is equally published.

‘We all saw how the Blessing Okagbare anti-doping violation case was handled by the AIU, including how they arrived at the decision to slam a 10 year ban on her.

‘The contrary was the case in the AFN under Solomon Ogba (for eight years) and now under Okowa where no one knows who has been caught and that explains how the Kwara state athletics coach has defied the ban and has been carrying on as if nothing happened.

‘The banned coach, I have been reliably informed, has been to every AFN organised events since his ban last year starting with the National Sports Festival
in Asaba, the Delta state capital last December,’ said Gadzama.

The AFN first Vice President is not also sure the Kwara State Athletics Association was notified of the coach’s ban and wants the Secretary General to show
email evidence to that effect since correspondence with State Athletics Associations is done via email.

‘As at today, the AFN Secretary General, on the order of the President has locked board members out of the federation’s WhatsApp channel following calls
that he should run a transparent and inclusive administration.

‘We have seen how they announced a sponsorship deal with Premium Trust Bank in August last year in Birmingham, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Games
without the knowledge of board members and how the unsigned deal, despite photo ops is yet to leave the table of the broker almost nine months after.’