Nigeria Weightlifting Federation Boss Abdul Elected President of WFA Central Zone Federation
The Nigeria Weightlifting Federation (NWF) is proud to announce that its President, Dr Ibrahim Abdul, has been elected as the pioneer President of the newly established Weightlifting Federation of Africa (WFA) Central Zone Federation.
Dr Abdul’s election took place during the inaugural meeting of the Central Zone Federation on Sunday, following the WFA Executive Board’s decision to restructure the sport across Africa into five administrative zones, North, West, East, Central, and South, aimed at accelerating development, improving governance, and strengthening weightlifting activities across the continent.
Nigeria belongs to the Central Zone, which includes Cameroon, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea, Burkina Faso, Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The meeting elected Dr Abdul as President, with Cameroon’s Boukar Tikire as Vice President and Ghana’s Jerry Shaib Ahmed as Secretary General.
Other members of the executive committee include Vincent Aka Akessé (Côte d’Ivoire), Maria Dolores (Equatorial Guinea), Anderson Tosh Bei (Liberia), alongside representatives from Burkina Faso, Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The host nation for the inaugural Central Zone Weightlifting Championships will be announced in the coming weeks.
Reacting to his election, Dr Abdul expressed gratitude to member nations for their confidence and pledged purposeful leadership:
‘I am deeply honoured by this election and I sincerely thank all member federations for the confidence they have placed in me. This is not only a recognition of my efforts but also a reflection of the growing influence and contributions of Nigeria to the development of weightlifting in Africa.’
Dr Abdul described the zonal structure as a significant step towards strengthening the sport continent-wide:
‘This new structure presents an opportunity to bring weightlifting closer to our athletes, coaches and administrators. Our mission is to build a strong and vibrant Central Zone that will serve as a model for talent discovery, athlete development and administrative excellence.’
