AIU Probe: Gara Gombe tells NSC to sack AFN boss

AIU Probe: Gara Gombe tells NSC to sack AFN boss

The Chairman Board of Trustees of Athletics and Other Sports Development Initiative Hon. Ahmed Shuaibu Gara Gombe has called for the immediate removal of President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) over Nigeria's athletes U1-8 /U-20 age-cheat probe by the Athletics Integrity Unit AIU.

In a press statement made available to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday
Gombe said, "The recent query by Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) did not come to me as a surprise"..

According to him, "The AFN under Tonobok Okowa has been a disappointment and embarrassment to Nigeria. The National Sports Commission (NSC) must and should not treat the matter with levity, but should they resolve to treat the issue with kid gloves, I won't be surprised because it was same NSC that manipulated the system and supported Okowa's emergence as President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria with nothing to show for it, encouraging monumental corruption, embezzlement, fraudulent activities, miss-management and lack of accountability under Okowa and arbitrariness without regards to the Constitution of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, without regards to the AFN Congres and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

The Chairman of an NGO that advocates transparency, accountability and good governance in Sports insisted that, " This matter, must not go untouched. The same scandal that happened in Paris and some people in the defunct Ministry of Sports led by the former Minister John Owen Enoh claimed setting up a committee to investigate reasons behind the omission of Favour Ofili's name from the 100m list."

The statement further stated that, "The committee's report was swept under the carpet. No body was punished or sent to jail.
How could you give someone a job and it was concluded and you refused to talk about it.
From the time the committee was set up, I said this committee were Stooges, robots that can be directed on what to do and they have done it.
Though the committee made some recommendations, but no one knows the outcome of their recommendations.
Nobody was punished or indicted. Nobody was sent to jail. We pretended everything was alright.
Now, the same Athletics Federation of Nigeria are back with another scandal and I can assure you that before the end of first quarter of 2026 and before the January 16th date given by AIU, they would be in another scandal to embarrass the Nation.
Mr. President is too busy doing many things. If the National Sports Commission cannot help him to deal with these crooks that are destroying AFN, then, the NSC have to go down with Okowa.
It is either the NSC deal or remove Okowa outrightly or they would go with him. This is a fight to finish. January 16 is just around the corner, fortunately or unfortunately, it is a day after my birthday.
But the Athletics and other Sports Development Initiative therefore give NSC two weeks to Suspend Okowa until after the investigation they promised to carry out.
If they foot-drag, and allow him to remain in office, all of them would have to .go", Gombe concluded.