
Nigeria’s Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, warned that no national sports federation in the country is autonomous of the government.
Dare, while inaugurating the new board of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), on Tuesday in Abuja led by Tonobok Okowa, said no sports federation “None of Nigeria’s 38 federations” can unilaterally lay claim to any autonomy.
The minister’s position was against the backdrop of what he described as a “misnomer and illegal”, the AFN board elections of Monday, with the one in Abuja producing Okowa and the other in Birnin-Kebbi producing Ibrahim Gusau.
The minister explained that the ministry’s recognition of Okowa’s board was due to the compliance with the Constitution of the Federation and laws of the land, while charging the board to reposition the federation in line with international best practices, said its emergence was indeed a new dawn for track and field in Nigeria.
The new AFN President pledged to extend a hand of friendship to all factions with a view of building a strong united Federation.
The 14-member board which has 12 members for now, has as Gadzama Tafida as its First Vice-President, while Rosaline Collins-Okah is the Second Vice-President.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Okowa had on Monday emerged the new President of AFN in the elections conducted in Abuja, while Gusau was re-elected AFN President in Birnin-Kebbi same day.