By Uzor Odigbo
Some members of the board of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, say Bukola Olopade of Nilayo Sports Management Company was not the marketing consultant for the federation when the phantom sponsorship agreement with Premium Trust Bank was purportedly signed with the AFN last August
Olopade had, in a media interview accused members of the board of the AFN of scrambling for Premium Trust Bank sponsorship money when the members referred to are asking the federation’s President, Tonobok Okowa to come clean on a deal purportedly signed last year without the knowledge of the Secretary-General and approval of the board.
“Bukola should not talk about what he does not know. He was not at the federation’s board meeting held virtually two months ago where Okowa confessed the AFN did not sign any sponsorship agreement with AFN,” said Tafida Gadzama, the AFN’s first Vice President.
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“So, Bukola should tell us the reason for the noise about a sponsorship deal in Birmingham on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Games in August last year. Bukola was there when one of our members queried the president on the deal.
“Truth is we all heard about the deal on the pages of newspapers and we have been asking the President why he attempted to shave our heads in our absence. This is clearly not how to run a federation.”
Gadzama says he is flabbergasted by comments by Olopade that he signed a contract with the bank on behalf of the AFN.
“He claims he is the one that signed the contract with Premium Trust Bank on behalf of the AFN. Pray, who gave him the authorisation because at the time the alleged fraudulent deal was announced, he was not the AFN marketing consultant.
“I have also not heard about where a Federal Government supervised sports federation tries to hide its earnings, as it were from the government when the federation has its own bank account. Perhaps Bukola can enlighten us further on this because it smacks of corruption.
“Maybe Bukola thinks his closeness to the AFN President confers on him unfettered access to the federation’s marketing rights.”
Gadzama, a member of Nigeria’s men’s 4x400m relay team that won gold for Nigeria at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, says members of the AFN asking for transparency in the running of the AFN should be commended.
“The President runs the AFN as if he was running his private business and we have told him it is unacceptable,” he said