‘IOC might ban Nigeria’ — AFN rejects sports ministry’s dissolution order

Ibrahim Shehu-Gusau, factional president of Athletics Federation Nigeria (AFN), says the decision of the sports ministry to dissolve all sports federations boards might attract international sanctions.

Speaking with TheCable on Saturday, Shehu-Gusau said the development might incur the wrath of the International Olympics Committee (IOC) and by extension prevent Nigeria from participating in Tokyo later this year.

Sunday Dare, minister of youth and sports development, had on Friday dissolved all sports federations boards while setting up caretaker committees.

“Having run a full Olympic cycle, the Boards of the NSFs inaugurated on June 21, 2017 are hereby dissolved to pave way for fresh elections,” the minister had said in a statement.

“In order to ensure continuity in the administration of the federations, caretaker committees are hereby put in place to manage the affairs of the Federations until elections are conducted and the new boards inaugurated.”

But according to Shehu-Gusau, the sports ministry lacks the legal rights to sack boards of sports federation before their respective tenures expire.

The factional chairman of AFN, who is currently embroiled in a fierce legal battle with the sports ministry, said such action infringes on the laws of IOC which prohibit government interference.

He also warned that Nigeria’s chance of participating in the Olympics might be hampered because the IOC might clamp down on the country.

“I can confirm that the minister doesn’t have the locus standi, the power to dissolve federations. We all have independent constitutions and governing procedures. We have laws guiding our elections into offices,” Shehu-Gusau told TheCable.

“Former minister Solomon Dalong directed all federations which will guide them henceforth and we did that. All the federations have been holding their conferences in line with their constitutions. And the tenure has not yet expired, so he doesn’t have a right to dissolve federations.

“Of course, it might cause the sanction of international federations because the practice around the world is federations working independently without the interference of government.

“Very soon the IOC might ban Nigeria because the body doesn’t condone this. By next week, I can tell you we’ll start seeing reactions from international federations. Those international federations might decide to report to IOC and the committee might decide to ban Nigeria. Going to the Olympics might be a problem.”