AFN Board Members Write Minister, Lament Crisis Under Okowa’s Leadership

Board members of the board of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) have written to the minister of sports development, Senator John Enoh, to intervene in the ongoing crisis in the federation.

The letter dated November 29, 2023, described the signatories as ‘concerned members of the board of AFN’.
According to them, the developments in the AFN threaten the success of the federation under the leadership of its President Tonobok Okowa.

“The undersigned are concerned members of the board of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, and we are compelled to write you this letter to inform you of developments in the federation.

The signatories of the letter titled ‘Developments in Athletics Federation of Nigeria,’ are Tafida Gadzama; first vice president and Sydney Olympics gold medalist; Rosa Collins, second vice president; Victor Okorie, performance director; Henry Okorie, athletes representative and Oludare Esan, head of media and communications.

The board members accused Okowa of arrogating all powers to himself and not carrying them along in decision-making.

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It said that a five-member audit committee which was set up in September to investigate the way the AFN was being run asked Okowa to pay back to the body N40 million he had collected as a refund for some expenses he claimed to have made with collective agreements.

It noted that Okowa had refused to refund the money but instead left the federation’s WhatsApp group where important matters regarding its activities are discussed.

It said, “The present board of AFN which was sworn in on June 15, 2021 has been engulfed in crisis since 2022 when its President, Tonobok Okowa arrogated all powers to himself to the extent that board members only read about the federation’s event or agreement on the pages of newspapers.

“This caused a near furore during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom in August 2022. Nigerian newspapers were awash with the news of a ‘sponsorship agreement’ between the AFN and Premium Trust Bank and there was a press conference in Birmingham to announce the ‘deal without the knowledge of the board, especially the four members that were in Birmingham at the time including the federation’s first Vice President, Tafida Gadzama whose hotel was just five minutes’ walk away from where the Press conference was held.

“The event in Birmingham set the tone for the distrust between the AFN President and some board members. In September 2023, dissatisfied with how the federation was being run, a five-man Audit Committee was constituted via a resolution of the board at its meeting of September 16, 2023.

“Since the committee submitted its report on 30th October, 2023, it has been an uneasy calm at the federation as the President is insisting the audit committee’s recommendation that asked him to refund 40m naira he collected as a refund for some of his expenses which is not covered by any agreement be expunged from the report before any semblance of peace can return to the AFN.

“It is pertinent to state here, sir, that there are pending issues that need the attention of the board and that require a decision to have been taken but the AFN President is not forthcoming with the leadership to lead the way,” the letter read in part.

They also accused Okowa of shunning their advice regarding how the country can adequately prepare for upcoming national sporting activities.