Editorial: Who in AFN will confirm the list of candidates as outlined in the timeline of Elections into the board of the Federation?

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria on Monday released the timeline for this month’s elections into the board of the Federation.

This is a job specifically reserved for the (illegal) 7-man Electoral Committee purportedly set up by the disputed Congress of the Federation last month in Yenagoa, Bayelsa.

Article 11.1 subsection 1 of the disputed 2023 Constitution of the Federation states unambiguously that ‘an Electoral Committee shall be set up by Congress following a proposal by the
Executive Board to oversee the electoral process and evaluate the eligibility of prospective candidates.’

It is thus the job of the Electoral Committee to draw both the timeline and guidelines for the Elections.

It is also the job of the Electoral Committee to evaluate the eligibility of the candidates as stated in article 11.1.1

Article 11.1.2 also states that ‘the Electoral Committee shall validate the candidature for the position of AFN President, 1st Vice President and 2nd Vice President and oversee that elections at regional levels have been carried out in a fair and reputable manner in accordance with AFN Constitution, Rules and Regulations.

It is thus surprising, and clearly against the relevant provisions of the AFN Constitution, that the Secretary General of the Federation would be the one to send the timeline of the elections to state associations and stakeholders as AFN Secretary General and not as Secretary of the Committee.

It is quite disturbing that the AFN could ascribe the power to determine the eligibility of Candidates to itself.

The pertinent question is: Who in AFN will confirm, to use the word of the Secretary General, the names of candidates that will be eligible to contest the elections?.

The incumbent President, Tonobok Ojuru Okowa is a contestant in the election while a couple of board members are also vying to come back to the board.

SO, who will ask Okowa questions on the AFN Audit Committee and the reported N40m he paid to himself as refund for a loan that has no documentation and no approval from the board?

There have also been reports on the legality of both the 2023 Constitution and the January and May 2023 Congress as well as that of April 2025.

For instance, the January 2023 Congress was not convened pursuant to article 6.1.5 of the 2017 Constitution of the Federation which makes it mandatory for ‘all the documents related to the Congress (reports, programmes, proposals, etc) shall be sent to the Secretariat of each State member association at least thirty (30) days prior to the Congress.’ This was not done.

On the amendments carried out at the Congress of January 2023, the processes for amending it were not followed.

For the avoidance of doubt, the amendments were not done pursuant to article 10, subsection 1.2 and 1.3 of the 2017 Constitution.

Article 10, sub-section 1.2 states thus: ‘Unless it comes from the AFN Council, any proposal to amend the Constitution shall be submitted to the Secretary General by a member state association at least six (6) months prior to the AFN Congress at which it is to be considered.

Article 10, sub-section 1.3 also states that ‘all proposals aw well as recommendations of the Council (the AFN Board in this case) related to such proposals shall be sent to member state association by the Secretary General at least three (3) months prior to the Congress’.

Sportsnow.com.ng has observed that the Federation has been governed at the whims and caprices of its President in a dictatorial manner and total disregard to the Federation’s Constitution.

It is clear most of the policies of the AFN have been predicated on faulty foundations while the so called amendments carried out in the equally disputed May 2023 extraordinary Congress of the AFN are null and void.

This amendments include the Controversial Article 17 which deals with the terms of office for board members and president.

Article 17 subsection 3 states thus: The maximum number of terms of office for any member of the Executive Board is three (3) terms, and that of the President, the maximum term is three (3) terms.

Sportsnow.com.ng thereby calls on the National Sports Commission which has been given supervisory role over all Sports Federations in Nigeria by the NSC Act 2023 to call the leadership of the AFN to order.

The desperation to remain in power has led to their willful violations of the provisions of the Federation’s Constitution.

The AFN should be made to know that you cannot build something on nothing.