FG to Shut Down IBB Golf Club Until 2026
*IMC mulls review of membership list
Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
Crisis enmeshed IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja may not be reopened until next year, THISDAY learnt yesterday.
Police and officials of Department of State Services (DSS) have occupied the club since its indefinite closure on April 26 before the Annual General Meeting to avert the club from plunging into crisis over the appointment of Board of Trustees.
It was gathered that the indefinite closure will afford authorities to renovate the club to world-class standard pending its reopening not expected to be later than next year.
The extensive course overall is to be carried out by Julius Berger, which originally designed the layout in 1991 and is to be jointly funded by Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Federal Ministry of Works and the National Sports Commission (NSC).
Impeccable sources revealed to THISDAY that a directive was issued to members by the Peter Deshi-headed Interim Management Committee (IMC) to expedite the removal of their personal items from the locker-rooms as the safety of such items could not be guaranteed due to the planned renovation.
The directive frantically forced many members to rush to the club to retrieve their items, including those who owned buggies packed in the club.
Security operatives only allowed the members to access the club to remove their belongings upon proper identification.
Only essential office workers, including security men and course workers are allowed into the course by DSS officials and police men attached to the facilities.
Even members of the IMC that routinely meet at the club have to be well identified before they can gain access into the course.
Authoritative sources also revealed that the IMC is also working on a template of rescreening members when the golf is eventually reopened.
The genesis of IBB Golf Club’s crisis could be traced to March 13, 2025 when DSS was invited following the disruption of the Extra Ordinary Emergency Meeting, summoned to adopt a new constitution on the tenure of Board of Trustees members.
The appointment of a new BoT headed by Justice Monica Dongbam- Mensem by FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has also become a subject of litigation as three IBB Club members, Ubong Akpan, Tijani Ogueyi and Olalere Babasola approached the court for an interim order, restraining Wike from appointing Dongbam- Mensem, incidentally the President of the Appeal Court as BoT chairman.
