AFN release tentative timetable for elective congress

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria has released a tentative timetable for the June 14 Elective Congress that would usher in a new board.

The details were contained in the timetable sent to World Athletics by the Secretary General of the AFN, Prince Adisa Adeniyi Beyioku.

The extraordinary congress of the Federation, where a three-man Electoral Commission will be appointed and inaugurated in accordance with article 7.2.1 of the 2017 AFN constitution, which World Athletics had affirmed, will be used to conduct the elections.

The appointment and inauguration of the Electoral Commission will midwife the process for the Elective Congress on June 8, 2021 in Abuja.

Beyioku stated that State Athletics Associations which constitute the 37-member congress, have been notified, just as the AFN had sought the approval of the timetable from World Athletics.

This became necessary following the refusal of Ibrahim Shehu Gusau to transmit a letter to the Secretary General to convene and prepare the programme for the extraordinary congress in accordance with articles 4, 6.1.4, 8.3.6 and 8.3.9 of the AFN constitution.

The Federation had reported Gusau’s violations of several articles of the AFN constitution and the terms of agreement reached at the reconciliation meeting held in April by members of the executive board of the AFN with two top officials of the Confederation of African Athletics.

“Both the CAA and WA have affirmed that they only recognise the 2017 constitution which was adopted at the congress on November 16, 2017 with Mr Gusau presiding as the president of the Federation,” Beyioku reiterated.

Beyioku further revealed that the attention of WA had been drawn to Gusau’s infractions by disregarding the world governing body’s letter to him that the 2017 AFN constitution is the officially recognised document, which must be used to conduct the June 14 Elective Congress.

‘We have forwarded the purported guidelines released by his Electoral Commission to WA and the communique issued after the disputed congress reportedly held on May 12, 2021 where the agreements reached at April’s reconciliation meeting were rejected as well as  the 2017 constitution which both the CAA and WA insist must be used for the conduct of  the elections”.

The WA had in a letter through the Chief Executive Officer, Jon Ridgeon, and signed by Carolyn Launios, Executive Assistant, categorically denied the purported amendments of the 2017 constitution reportedly carried out at a disputed congress in Awka in December 2019.

The letter warned Gusau that it would exercise the powers conferred on it by the 2019 WA constitution if its instructions are ignored.

World Athletics position is that the 2017 AFN constitution subsists.

“For the purpose of clarity, World Athletics has never recognised and does not recognise the so-called 2019 constitution so any election must be held in accordance with the 2017 constitution,” the letter concluded.