By Uzor Odigbo
The suit instituted at the Federal High Court, Abuja division by Shehu Ibrahim Gusau, the immediate past President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) against the Federal Ministry of Sports Development and the AFN challenging the Tonobok Okowa led board has been adjourned to December 7, 2023.
The hearing was initially billed for last Thursday but had to be adjourned because the court did not sit on the day listed for the case.
Gusau wants the Federal High court to declare the June 14, 2021 election of the executive board of the AFN held in Abuja illegal while insisting the election held in Kebbi on the same date should be recognised.
In the election held in Abuja which was witnessed by a representative of both the Nigeria Olympic Committee and the Federal Ministry of Sports Development, Okowa emerged the President with Tafida Gadzama and Rosa Collins as the first and second vice-presidents respectively.
At the Kebbi election which was not witnessed by any representative from the Nigeria Olympic Committee and the Federal Ministry of Sports Development, Gusau was reportedly re-elected while Sunday Adeleye and Nneka Anibeze were also reportedly elected as the first and second vice-presidents.
While the election held in Abuja was organized in accordance with the 2017 constitution of the AFN as instructed by World Athletics, the Kebbi election was organised using the disputed and rejected 2019 constitution of the federation.
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Gusau was derecognised by World Athletics a few weeks to the June 14 elections following the removal of his name as AFN President from the profile page of the AFN on World Athletics’ website.
The official password of the federation was
also withdrawn from the faction of the AFN he led by World Athletics.
Prior to these actions, he was warned by the world governing body that the purported 2019 AFN constitution is null and void and cannot be used in the administration of the AFN and election of the executive board of the federation.