Categories: Athletics

AFN set up 5-man committee for All Africa Games, Olympics, others

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), has set up a 5-man committee to raise a formidable athletics team for the Africa Games, the World in-door Championship and the Olympics Games holding in Paris.

The decision was taken at the board meeting which was held over the weekend in Abuja.

Sporting Tribune reports that the 5-man committee is headed by Commodore Omatseye Nesiama (rtd). Other members are the Technical Director of the federation, Samuel Onikeku, Ambassador Manta Haruna Mohammed, Mrs Maria Wophill and Dr Solomon Alao while an official of the AFN secretariat will serve as secretary of the committee.

The terms of reference of the committee is to put in place a formidable athletics squad (from home and abroad) to fly the nation’s flag at the Africa Games, the World In-door Championship as well as the Olympics Games in Paris. The board also dissolved all its committees after serving two years as agreed upon at the beginning of its tenure and it has approved its Safeguarding Policy Committee.

The board also set up a 3-man Committee to fashion out appropriate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the committees which would soon be set up by the federation. This Committee SOPs is headed by Dr Solomon Alao with Mrs Maria Wophill and Prof Emmanuel Ojeme as members.

The 3-member committee is to draw up SOPs/Terms of Reference for the new Committees that will be set up as their operational guidelines. The AFN board also deliberated on the Audit Committee Report and applauded the members for their efforts.

However, the board did not uphold the particular recommendation which tagged the various funds loaned to the federation by the President, Chief Tonobok Okowa, as ‘donations’ and thus required him to make a refund of part of his reimbursement collected.

Also, the board unanimously agreed that Chief Okowa should be refunded his money as soon as funds is available. This applies to all other members who have loaned out monies to the Federation as well.

Regarding the Audit Committee recommendation that the Secretary General of the AFN, Rita Mosindi, be removed, the board, while deliberating, observed that it does not have the power to remove the SG as it did not appoint her.

The board also observed that apart from apologising both verbally and in writing to the board, Mosindi has been under close watch and seen to be truly remorseful and demonstrated that she has changed and is ready to work with the board to attain its ultimate goals.

Board members who attended the meeting held on Zoom were Chief Tonobok Okowa, Commodore Omatseye Nesiama (retd), Ambassador Manta Haruna Mohammed, Professor Emmanuel Ojeme, Mr Samuel Onikeku, Dr Solomon Alao, Mrs Maria Wophill, Honourable Yusuf Liman Dahiru (sent apology) and Rita Mosindi, the secretary general.

READ ALSO FROM SPORTING TRIBUNE