Calls For AFN’s Leadership Overhaul Heightens

In the wake of a disastrous representation at the Paris 2024 Olympics, veteran sports journalist Raymond Akparuere has voiced strong opinion regarding the leadership of Nigeria’s sports federations, specifically targeting the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).

Akparuere argued that the AFN President, under whose watch Nigerian athlete Favour Ofili’s registration was mishandled, did not deserve re-election.

His remarks come in response to recent statements made by the chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Malam Shehu Dikko, during an interview on Channels Television’s SportsVille programme.

Dikko outlined plans for a new governance structure aimed at reforming the sports federations, emphasising the need for responsible leadership.

“We want to reform the structure of the federations with a view to bringing in the right people to come and contest as presidents,” Dikko stated, highlighting that past failures should disqualify certain individuals from future elections.

Akparuere echoed the same sentiments, criticising the leadership that allowed a Nigerian athlete to borrow a bicycle from another country to compete and the oversight that led to sprinter Favour Ofili’s name missing from the roster for a qualified international event.

“Those who ensured these embarrassments should not be allowed to contest again,” he declared, pointing out that the failures of the leaders were clear to anyone watching.

This is coming on the heels of Nigeria’s poor performance and logistical blunders that saw athletes face embarrassing challenges, including Ofili’s inability to compete due to name omissions, insisting that not only the AFN leadership but presidents of other federations such as Cycling and Boxing Federations should also be barred from returning.

“Those responsible for our embarrassment at the Olympics should not be allowed near the election process,” Akparuere said, according to sportsnow.com’s report.

Concerns echoed throughout the sports community following the report of the investigative committee set up by the former minister of sports development and now minister of state for trade and industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, which implicated two officials of the AFN and recommended compensation for Ofili, highlighting the gravity of the situation.

Moving forward, reform advocates hoped that the established governance structures will prevent further mismanagement and bring about a new era of accountability in Nigerian sports.