Boxing stakeholders ask Senate to probe appointment of NBF caretaker boss

Some stakeholders in Nigeria’s boxing yesterday called on the Senate to probe the appointment of a former Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF) Vice President, Dr. Joseph Ayeni, as chairman, a caretaker committee of the Federation by the sports ministry.

In a petition to the Chairman, Senate Committee on Sports, Senator Obinna Joseph Ogba, yesterday, the stakeholders accused the ministry of disregarding an alleged indictment and impeachment of Ayeni by the NBF board in the past, adding that the appointment is an embarrassment to boxing stakeholders in particular and the country in general.

The signitaries to the petition are Mr. David Amade, Yila Yusuf Tal, Femi Ayandibu, Azania Omo-Agege, Lukmon Lawal, and Chief Ogbu Osondu.

They said: “This imposition is an attack not only on the sensitivities of the honourable members of the NBF but also on the athletes, whose welfare were treated with disdain and criminal negligence, as well as other member associations, whose authority were usurped by the self-styled messiah of boxing.

“To every sane mind, this singular act has positioned the ministry as a biased umpire, which further jeopardises the survival of our sport by putting the reins of management in the hands of the same people whose immediate past actions put Nigeria boxing in comatose.

“As concerned stakeholders and board members, we will be failing both our moral and professional obligations if we do not seek a thorough investigation and just resolutions to these issues on behalf of the constituencies we represent in boxing.

“We, therefore, beg the distinguished chairman and esteemed members of the Senate Committee on Sports to investigate and take necessary actions to redress the situation, deter further rape of Nigerian boxing and help begin its revival.”