It is very unfortunate that the Rugby Federation led by Kelechi Mbagwu who is embroiled with so much crisis and administrative anomalies will seriously call for a board meeting to discuss on how to deal with an individual instead of how to get the Federation out of its murky waters that it has dragged itself into over the last 3 years of this board through the highhandedness of its one man run board!
How does an anonymous petition with no names of an accuser and no evidence of wrong doing be the subject of a serious board meeting if not a deliberate ploy to tarnish the image of the accused and divert attention from the main issues contained in a 3 paged letter by the supervising Ministry of Youth & Sports directing the President and his board to do the needful within a stipulated time.
As expected the President Mr Kelechi Mbagwu has clearly shown his disregard for even the boards decisions which he made as regards setting up of a disciplinary sub . The sub committee set up by him and which was adopted by the board has CP Aliyu Abubakar, Brig. Gen. Abdulahi Maikano & Ms Ifioma Ogoh as members.
Now how do you have an accuser being a judge in her own case. It is a well known fact that Barr. Ifioma Ogoh is the Lawyer of Mr Kelechi’s Company whom he imposed on the Rugby Federation as it’s Legal Adviser without any approval. It is also on record that the same Lady is the architect of this anonymous petition after she coerced players to put up fictitious claims using her powers as the employer of some of these players who were employed by the Rugby President as he formed and funded a Rugby Club called KC Old Boys. He employed the young man in question in the in his company and as coach of his club!
How then does anything then concern Ntiense Williams if not for share witch hunt which is his trademark.
It should actually be the President who should be on trial for employing and setting up a club run by the young man and he didn’t set up a committee to investigate and discipline if found guilty his employee since TWO YEARS or so ago that I heard about the issue.
Since it was his (Kelechi) private club issue with his employee and It was not brought to my attention at any point in time, i don’t see why I should be involved to say the least!
Then the 3rd member of this committee is Mr Adebowole Oshundun who is the media officer of the Rugby Federation and even the south west zonal chairman. One really wonders where we got it all wrong with him on the Rugby Federation board. A simple question to ask is what is his antecedent in the game that has brought him to be representing the zone and a state in Rugby when Rugby Administrators and stakeholders are left out! What is his involvements in Rugby to date since he even came into the board!? Unfortunately, that’s one of the misnomer of the Federation Elections which must be fixed through the individual Federation Constitutions. He is the chairman of Lagos SWAN and his election was bankrolled by Kelechi Mbagwu because he (Debo) came back to publicly thank him (Kelechi) in one of the board meetings after he won the said election. As such he is the accuser and cannot sit in judgement in his own case if there is any case in the first instance!?
I will only like to humbly advice our most respected CP Alylu Abubakar to dissociate himself from this charade which Kelechi is trying to drag him into to tarnish his well earned reputation.
What they should have been doing was to ask questions bordering around the said letter from the Ministry of Sports which gravely affects the working of the Federation going forward if not well handled.
I do not know how he intends hosting an International tournament without the knowledge and approval of the supervising Ministry of Sports which he has constantly had disdain for by refusing to honour over seven invitations to sort out thorny administrative issues of the Federation.
We thank God that there are still good men and women in the Federal Ministry of Youth & Sports who have decided to stand for the truth and not compromise notwithstanding all his inducements to turn a deaf ear and blind eye to injustice being perpetrated in one of its supervised Sports Federation.
Meanwhile, the letter from the Federal Ministry of Youth & Sports states clearly that the Rugby President and his illegally appointed Technical Director are suspended from any Ministry of Youth & Sports events and meetings pending when he sorts out the 14 points directives within the stipulated time given.
Obviously, the International body will not want to get involved with such, once they are aware of these grandstanding from the Rugby President with his government. The International body doesn’t want interferences, but it also works with the government of any member Country to the extent of obeying the laws of the land. As a matter of fact any hosting is between the International body and the member Union / Federation with anticipation and assurances that the Federation must have done the needful with its supervising Ministry / government and gotten the necessary endorsements / approvals to host or attend in the name of the member union /country
Let’s watch and see how the drama unfolds!
Ntiense Williams
“Mr Rugby”
