Confusion as AFN elects two presidents at different congresses

There was confusion on Monday after the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) elected two presidents to oversee the activities of the federation.

Tony Okowa was elected AFN president at the 2021 elective congress held at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.

The Delta-born sports administrator, who won unopposed, is to replace Olamide George, while Gazama Tafida was elected as the first vice president of the federation.

However, the federation, which had been bedevilled by a leadership crisis since 2019, had another election in Kebbi state, which was won by Ibrahim Shehu-Gusau.

Shehu-Gusau, who polled 20 votes to defeat Uche Muoma, who got two votes, from the 22 delegates present at the venue, was re-elected for another four years as the president of the AFN in Kebbi.

Sunday Adeleye also defeated Solomon Abari and Patrick Estate to emerge the first vice president, northwest zonal representative.

The two elective congresses came on the heels of which of the constitution should be used in conducting the election — the 2017 constitution or the amended one in Awka in 2019 by the Ibrahim Shehu-Gusau-led board.

While the Abuja election went with the 2017 constitution, that of Kebbi adopted the one amended in 2019.