The outgoing President of the Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria (GFN) had earlier conducted an election which was later nullified by the National Sports Commission (NSC) for failing to meet the required legal standards.
The Director General of the National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade, has promised to address and resolve the leadership crisis currently engulfing the Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria.
This follows renewed calls by one of the chairmanship candidates, Alhaja Kafilat Olalere, who insisted on a transparent and all-inclusive election to choose the executives of the federation.
The NSC had fixed dates for fresh elections on two different occasions, but both attempts failed to materialize. This left many delegates—who had converged on Abuja over the weekend to participate in elections into various sporting federations—bewildered and dissatisfied.
Speaking during the elections of other federations under the NSC, held in Abuja, Olopade said he would meet with the two key contenders in the GFN to resolve the crisis.
However, Olalere, who is contesting for the GFN presidency against Kelvin Erunmwase, maintained that the only way to resolve the impasse is to proceed with an election.
She emphasized that only a properly conducted election—one that allows all stakeholders to participate—would be acceptable to her.
Olalere told journalists that elections into other federations had been encouraging and peaceful.
She said:
“We are just not happy that our federation’s election did not hold. That is, the Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria. We received correspondence from the Sports Commission that there would be an election on the 25th.
Every delegate who was elected and expected to vote is here. Everybody came from across the nation, only to be told that there would be no election.
But we have not been informed as to why the election is not going to hold. Hopefully, before the end of the entire election process, we will get feedback on when it will be conducted. People have come in from every state of the federation to participate, so we are still waiting. The election is still very much in process—the day is still young.”
Responding to the DG’s promise to resolve the crisis through dialogue between the two candidates, Olalere said:
“No, it has to be an election. We’ve had enough round tables and back-and-forths. The only thing that will resolve this issue once and for all is an election.
Yes, there was a round table meeting before now, but it was inconclusive. If a proposition is made and one party still disagrees, then we must go to the polls.
The election is what determines who wins and who loses. We just want everything to be transparent. We want an election, not a selection.
Stakeholders want to participate in choosing who leads them for the next four years. Disenfranchising any group will not sit well with the gymnastics community.
We need peace and harmony in the next administration, and the only way to achieve that is to allow people to exercise their constitutional right to vote for their preferred candidate.”
Other stakeholders of the Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria echoed the same position, stressing that an election is the only way out of the current logjam.
Dr. Ajibola Samson of the Nigeria Association for Physical, Health Education, Recreation, Sports, and Dance (NAPHER-SD) emphasized that the process must be inclusive, with no group under the federation left out.
Similarly, Richard Jatau (North East Representative), John Abiodun Oyewuwo (South West Representative), and Dr. Oladipo Samuel, a stakeholder from Ekiti, expressed disappointment that the GFN election did not hold as scheduled on Saturday.
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