Presidential elections for several sports federations will take place on Saturday (today) at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, with the National Sports Commission overseeing the process to ensure transparency and adherence to due process.
The elections come after weeks of controversy and interventions by the NSC, which has been working to ensure fair and credible processes across multiple federations.
In tennis, former Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Victor Ochei, is tipped to emerge as president of the Nigeria Tennis Federation following his acceptance to contest for the position.
Ochei was recently nominated by the National Sports Commission as the Sponsorship/Philanthropist representative on the board of the federation. However, the businessman, who for many years sponsored the Wheelchair Tennis Championship, has been successfully lobbied by some stakeholders to contest for the top job.
While Ochei is tipped for the presidency, stakeholders are reportedly working hard to get former Nigerian tennis superstars Nduka Odizor, David Imonitie and Sadiq Abdullahi to join the board.
Explaining the stakeholders’ choice of Ochei as NTF president, a representative of the stakeholders, Caleb Tsav, said it is important that tennis gets it right this term to put the federation on the right growth path.
“Ochei has faithfully and diligently committed about N200 million in sponsoring the yearly Davnotch Open Tennis Championship for half a decade (2021-2025),” Tsav said.
“To buttress his affinity for tennis, he is an Audemars Piguet Ambassador, as he religiously attends the four yearly global tennis grand slams for over a decade. As an avowed sports aficionado, he equally sponsors the yearly Onicha-Olona Unity Cup football tournament for the past five years.
“He also constructed the Donald Ochei mini-stadium in his home town, Onicha-Olona in Aniocha North LGA, Delta State, a feat that is worthy of emulation.”
In kickboxing, the federation conducted board member elections on September 16, with Emmanuel Atagana winning the Technical Representative position with 23 votes, ahead of Kevin Onyika, who got 11 votes. In the Athlete Representative category, Jibrin Inuwa Baba secured 22 votes, defeating Olakunle Awoyele, who polled 11 votes.
Air Vice Marshal Batnan Frama, former Director of Sports at the Defence Headquarters, has been screened as a presidential candidate for the Kickboxing Federation, while GM Nelson Oluigbo, winner of the South-West Representative position, was screened for the vice president position.
In gymnastics, presidential candidate Omowunmi Olalere has called for transparency, inclusiveness, and adherence to due process in the federation elections, urging the NSC to ensure a credible process that reflects the voices of all stakeholders.
The fresh elections follow the annulment of the September polls, which saw incumbent president Kelvin Erhunmwunse emerge unopposed. The NSC declared the elections inconsistent with national sports governance principles after complaints from affected parties.
Olalere welcomed the NSC’s intervention but rejected an offer to accept the position of second vice-president, insisting that accepting an appointment without due process would further alienate stakeholders.
“Accepting the position of vice-president without due process would further disenfranchise many people. The NSC press release clearly stated that zonal representative elections must be conducted,” she said.
“If these zonal elections do not hold, and I simply accept an appointed position, it would compromise my integrity and go against my principles. It would also deepen grievances within the gymnastics family.”
Meanwhile, president of the Nigeria Judo Federation, Dr Musa Oshodi, has commended the NSC, the Nigeria Olympic Committee, and other stakeholders for resolving the Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria’s impasse.
In a statement, Oshodi appreciated the fair and transparent approach used to address the issues.
“Every aspect of the matter was carefully considered and treated on its merits, culminating in a just and fair resolution acceptable to all parties involved,” he noted.
Oshodi apologised to NSC Director-General Hon. Bukola Olopade for any miscommunication that may have caused misunderstandings related to the Judo Federation.
Looking ahead, Oshodi expressed optimism that the same constructive approach will be applied to address challenges facing the Judo Federation, promoting good governance and sports development in Nigeria.
The NSC has been actively involved in ensuring fair electoral procedures across multiple federations, having previously suspended planned polls in both boxing and judo federations after widespread concerns over electoral irregularities and inadequate preparation time for prospective candidates.
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