AFN emergency congress not to witch-hunt anybody, says official

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has explained that the Federation’s emergency congress, which holds in Abuja on May 25, is not to witch-hunt anybody.

A letter by AFN Secretary General, Rita Mosindi, during the week directed all chairmen and secretary of States Athletics Associations to arrive in Abuja for the emergency congress scheduled for May 25 at the Media Centre of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium.

“The objective of this extra-ordinary congress is to address an important constitutional matter,” the letter said. However, some board members of the AFN are said to be running from pillar to post, complaining that the emergency congress in Abuja is meant to witch hunt some of them. They also claim that the congress did not meet the required constitutional number of days.

But an official of the body explained to The Guardian, yesterday, that the May 25 emergency congress is not called to witch hunt anyone.

“Anybody claiming that May 25 emergency congress in Abuja is to witch hunt some board members is raising unnecessary alarm,” the official said. “In the first place, the AFN has held its Congress for the year and anyone we are calling now is emergency.”

The official revealed that during the AFN congress in January this year, the first vice president, Tafida Gadzama, raised a bill that the tenure of the president be elongated from 12 years to 16 years. I am sure he did that so that his tenure, as the vice president, will also be 16 years, instead of 12. What we have in the AFN before our congress in January is that the president’s tenure is 12 years, which means the president has tenure of four years of three terms. At World Athletics, the tenure of the president is 12 years.

“Such tenure elongation of 16 years