National Sports Commission (NSC) has been urged to dissolve all boards of National Sports Federations whose tenures have expired in the interest of equity and fair play, ahead of their forthcoming elective congresses.
At the weekend, the NSC announced the formation of a seven-member electoral committee for the National Sports Federations Elections.
In a press statement signed by the director of press, Dr (Mrs) Kehinde Ajayi, the NSC stated that the establishment of the electoral committee aligns with the Commission’s mandate to uphold the principles of fairness, transparency, and accountability. The committee has been entrusted with the responsibility of conducting credible elections across all participating sports federations.
The committee, chaired by the retired director of field and elite athletes, Dr Simon Ebhojiaye, is expected to announce the election timetable and oversee all processes leading up to and including the conduct of the elections.
In response to the announcement, a former president of one of the sports federations, who is also an aspirant, remarked that simply setting up an electoral committee is not sufficient to ensure transparency and fair play for all participants in the elections.
“The tenures of the current boards of sports federations have expired; why are they still in office? If the NSC genuinely seeks to promote transparency and fairness for all, they should dissolve the boards. Allowing them to remain in office and conduct elections is tantamount to giving them an undue advantage over other candidates,” he stated.
The aspirant, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, added: “Historically, when the tenure of sports federation boards expires, the Sports Ministry—now the NSC—has dissolved all boards and appointed electoral committees to oversee new board elections. However, we are now witnessing that the current boards, whose tenures have long expired, are still in office, with some even conducting their own elections independently. Therefore, the NSC should first dissolve all the boards before establishing an electoral committee to manage the election process. This is the only way we can ensure the integrity of this exercise.”
The Dr Ebhojiaye-led electoral committee is expected to conduct elections for no fewer than 28 sports federation boards between this month and January 2026. However, concerns about administrative preparedness remain, as only 12 of these federations have constitutions approved by their respective international governing bodies—an essential requirement for ensuring transparency and compliance with global standards.
The lack of approved constitutions among the majority of federations further emphasises the urgent need for the NSC to dissolve the boards in order to facilitate fair and transparent elections.
