Ministry of Sports Bows To Pressure, Makes U-Turn On AFN Caretaker Committee

Ministry of Sports Bows To Pressure, Makes U-Turn On AFN Caretaker Committee By Niyi Busari The Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has rescinded its decision on setting up a caretaker committee taking over the Board of Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) after being dissolved on Friday, BSNSports.com.ng can report. The Ministry of sports had on Friday April 30 announced dissolution of 31 Federations including AFN and set up a three-man Caretaker Committee to oversee the affair of the Federations and midwive the oncoming elections. This is contained in a press statement signed by the Director of Federations & Elite Athletes Department in the Ministry of sports, (FEAD), S.E Ebhojiaye made available to BSN Sports. This, according to the statement is to allow align with the resolution reached by the African Athletics governing body (CAA) and World Athletics (WA) intervention meeting which will allow the Board to reach a resolution on the adopted constitution ahead of the elections. The statement reads, "In line with the resolutions reached by the CAA/WA intervention team on the AFN crisis, the Ministry of Sports there will be no caretaker committee for the AFN. This is to allow the AFN which has been steeped in crisis to have a chance at a congress that will resolve the constitutional crisis. It added, "In Consonance with the resolution reached by the Confederation of African Athletics/World Athletics intervention team on the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, the Caretaker Committee announced for the Athletics Federation of Nigerian is rested and will not be inaugurated. Elections into the Board of the federation will follow the road map adopted at the intervention meeting in Abuja last month upon its adoption by World Athletics." Former Minister of sports, Solomon Dalung and other stakeholders had questioned the rationale behind the dissolution of 31 Sports Federations when the Tokyo Olympics is few weeks away and their tenures are yet to expire.