George’s AFN Rejects NOC’s Investigative Panel

George’s AFN Rejects NOC’s Investigative Panel

One of the members of the board of Olumide George-led Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Brown Ebewele on behalf of the ‘group’ has rejected the Olive branch of the Nigeria Olympic Committee

(NOC) to settle waring factions claiming the ownership of the soul of the federation.

The former athlete, who has been a board member of the federation said the NOC lacks the power to set up a committee to look into a perceived crisis in the federation.

The NOC had on Wednesday at its board meeting in Abuja said it has set up a four-man investigative panel to mediate in the crisis rocking the AFN.

“The NOC does not have the power to interfere in the internal affairs of the AFN,’’said Ebewele,who was former technical committee chairman of the federation.

“What the NOC is doing is trying to assert an authority that does not exist because the body thinks Nigerians are naive and ignorant of the rules governing international sports

“The AFN, for the avoidance of doubt, is only answerable to its parent body, World Athletics (formerly the International Association of Athletics Federations) which is aware of developments in the federation,’added Ebewele who querried NOC’s motive behind the so called investigative panel.

“We have set up a fact finding panel to look into the infractions committed by the suspended president of the federation,Shehu Ibrahim Gusau and there is no going back,’Ebewele insists and recalled a similar ploy employed by the NOC in June this year.

“In June this year,the NOC deceived us with a reconciliatory meeting where an agreement was reached inter-alia that the committees of the board should be reconstituted forthwith;decisions of the board should at all times be approved as specified in the constitution of the AFN and that due process should be followed in the administration and management of resources of the board.

“But what did we get? Gusau flouted all the agreements and the sixth and final agreement says sanctions as provided in the constitution of the AFN shall be invoked in the event of a breach of the resolutions,” he explained.

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