Revealed: Gusau yet to withdraw case against Sports Ministry, AFN over 2021 election

Former President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, Shehu Ibrahim Gusau is yet to withdraw the case he filed in court challenging the election of Tonobok Okowa as President of the federation, Sportsnow has learnt.

Gusau is asking for the court to declare him the President of the federation after claiming he won the election he organised in Kebbi on June 14, 2021, insisting the one held in Abuja on the same day which Okowa won was illegal as he, as the President of the AFN at the time, didn’t give any notice for the election congress in Abuja.

The election in Abuja was witnessed by officials from the Federal Ministry of Sports Development and the Nigeria Olympic Committee, NOC, as well as delegates
from 34 out of the 37 member associations.

The Abuja election was also recognised by World Athletics, the governing body for the sport worldwide.

Gusau organised the election in Kebbi using the disputed 2019 constitution of the AFN as amended, contrary to warnings from the world body that they would only recognise the 2017 constitution of the federation as amended and which, incidentally, was midwived by the former AFN president.

An impeccable source in the Sports Ministry has told Sportsnow the case is still in court.

‘The case in which he challenged the AFN elective congress held in Abuja on June 14, 2021 is still in court and we will get a date this October when the
judges return from their vacations,’ said one of the lawyers involved in the case but who does not want to be named.

Gusau was suspended by executive members of the AFN board in 2021 after he was accused of signing a deal with equipment company, PUMA without the knowledge of the board.

He was also accused of  causing PUMA to pay the money accrued to the federation from the contract to the bank account of Dynamics Sporting Solutions, a company owned by Sunday Omotayo Adeleye, the AFN technical director and athletes representative at the time.

The former Nigerian lawmaker however had his suspension upturned by the Federal High Court in Abuja.

It was also learnt that Gusau is also at the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Switzerland where he filed a case against World Athletics over the recognition of Okowa as AFN President and the entire executive board of the federation elected in Abuja on June 14, 2021.