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Athletics Federation of Nigeria and Scandals; Two of a Kind.


Another $150,000 scandal surfaces in the AFN, as Solomon Ogba announces his resignation from the board. 

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) is enmeshed in another $150,000 scandal as grant received from World Athletics to assist the Federation in the hosting of the 21st African Athletics Championships held in Asaba in August 2018, remains unaccounted for.

Recall that the AFN had been embroiled in a grant overpayment scandal which was recently repaid to the World Athletics body by the Minister of Youth and Sports Development.

The recent scandal involves a $150,000 (N54,000,000,00) the World Athletics had sent to assist the AFN in preparation for the championships last year, but the money remains unaccounted for and board members of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) will be looking to unravel the mystery surrounding the money when they hold their board meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

It has been widely reported that the alleged money went through an improper channel with the AFN secretariat not having any evidence of the payment which has given room to insinuations that the money was paid into a private account which could not have been possible without the authorisation of the President or Secretary General of the AFN.

The leadership of the AFN is also alleged to have committed many infractions some of which includes the details of the contract the Federation has with the kits manufacturer, PUMA which is shrouded in secrecy.

In a related development, former two-time AFN President and now a board member of the federation, Solomon Ogba, has resigned his position from the AFN board.
Ogba, who is currently the Chairman of Delta State Athletics Association announced his resignation through his Media adviser Olukayode Thomas on Monday morning as he stated that he (Ogba) chose to throw in the towel due to the undue interference in the activities of the AFN.

         Solomon Ogba

According to Thomas, Ogba is not comfortable with the dirty politicking that has taken over the AFN lately and that has informed his decision to quit the board.

He said Ogba who is an advocate of doing things right is not happy that the AFN constitution and rules have been relegated to the background while things are now done without recourse to the law binding the Federation.
“As an elder statesman in sports and athletics, in particular, Ogba said he cannot sit and continue to watch things done wrongly, though he has withdrawn from the AFN board, he will continue giving his support to athletics in Delta State and Nigeria as a whole” Thomas assured.

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