‘Only AFN Board, Not Okowa, Can Declare Audit Committee Report Inconclusive’, Says Gadzama

Tonobok Okowa, President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, has been told he lacks the power to declare as inconclusive the Report of the Audit Committee set up via a resolution of the Executive Board of the federation at its virtual meeting of September 16, 2023.

Tafida Gadzama, the first Vice President of the federation said in a statement made available to the media that the committee was set up pursuant to article 14.3.3 of the AFN constitution (2023 as amended) which gives the Executive Board the power to probe the finances of the federation and that only the Executive Board has the power to either accept, wholly or partially or reject, also wholly or partially the recommendations of the audit committee.

‘For the avoidance of doubt, the Executive Board of the AFN set up the audit committee which I chairmaned and the committee submitted its report on October 31, 2023.

‘The board at its meeting of December 10, 2024 deliberated on the report with majority of members applauding the committee for doing a thorough job,’ said Gadzama who revealed the Executive Board meeting was captured on tape.

‘We are very delighted we took the decision to record the meeting and what the President said in the report in Gurdian newspaper rubbishing the report is at variance with what transpired at the meeting.’

‘For instance, the President apologized to board members over the 40m naira he got refunded from the 70m naira the Federation received as sponsorship fee from Premium Trust Bank albeit the events sponsored by the President were not captured in the agreement.’

Gadzama, an Olympic and African Games gold medal winner for Nigeria revealed how a few board members wanted a pardon for the Secretary General at the meeting after it was unanimously agreed she failed in her duties as contained in the report.

The audit committee recommended the Secretary General should be redeployed by her employers, the Sports Ministry among other recommendations.

In one of the pleas for pardon, a three-time member of the board moved the motion for pardon and said, in his words, the Secretary General should ‘Go and sin no more’.

‘We have this on tape and may be released to the public if the President continues to distort facts about the report and the board meeting where it was discussed.

‘In fact the same board member moved that the board should approve that the President should be paid part of the money he spent organizing competitions for the AFN.

‘This was an attempt to approve the refund despite the fact that there was no agreement between the President and the board that he was loaning the federation the money.

‘The board member in question here (name withheld) could not answer when asked by another board member asked him if the money should be taken from the Premium Trust Bank Sponsorship money.

‘He kept mute as there was an attempt to link the President’s spending to the Premium Trust Bank Sponsorship agreement which, unfortunately for those with the disingenuous plan, was signed after the competitions sponsored by the President were held.’

According to Gadzama, two other board members also moved the motion that the President should use a non-existent discretionary power not recognized by the AFN Constitution to resolve the audit committee report in which he was asked to return the #40m he was paid.

‘The robust debate on the report happened the last time the AFN board met and our President is now singing a new tune, a tune not known to the AFN constitution.

‘In the report published by the Guardian , the President said the audit committee report was slated under AOB (any other business). AOB means any issues unknown to the board that a board member wishes to draw attention to.

‘At the last board meeting, the decision on the recommendations of the audit committee report was deadlocked and it was agreed it should be slated for the next meeting.

‘On African Games preparations , I want to believe the President did not mean it was also meant to come under AOB because the agenda did not indicate it would be discussed.

‘Remember, one of the reasons about seven members didn’t attend the board meeting which was supposed to hold last Sunday (but didn’t hold because of lack of quorum) was the non-inclusion of the African Games programme and preparations in the agenda.

‘So, when did the board discuss and approve the programme Mr Okowa says he is rolling out,’ asked Gadzama. Okowa, according to the AFN First Vice President thinks he is the AFN and can take any decision without the approval of the board.

‘We want to appeal to our friends in the media to always interrogate any press release from the Federation that does not originate from its head of Media so as not to misinform the general public,’ said Gadzama.