Stakeholders from the South-West Archery Zone have called for reforms within the Nigeria Archery Federation.
Its Chairman, S.A.K Shobayo, and secretary, Akintimehin Tundebabs, alongside other members on Saturday 17th February 2024 convened at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja and addressed critical concerns regarding the forthcoming Zen Archery Lagos National Open Championship and pertinently the forthcoming Federation Congress that will usher in a new Executive board to steward the affairs of Nigeria Archery Federation for the next four years
The communiqué released following the meeting outlined a series of grievances and demanded urgent action to address the state of archery in Nigeria.
The South-West Archery Zone highlighted several key issues, expressing dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs within the Nigeria Archery Federation. The major issue among their concerns was the need for transparency and accountability in the upcoming Federation Congress, scheduled for March 8 in Lagos.
The communique is as follows:
1. The regime of these outgoing executives of the Nigeria Archery Federation ends on the 10th day of March 2024.
2. The Congress is scheduled to be held in Lagos on 8th March as unanimously agreed upon at the January 19th meeting of the board.
3. Based on the earlier assertion; the South -West Archery Zone has scheduled a National Open Archery Championship in Lagos sponsored by the Zen Archery Club and Co-sponsored by the Lagos State Archery Association where millions of Naira has been spent to ensure the success of the event.
The South-West Archery Zone also noted that the last election was held in Abuja, meanwhile, the election that produced the present President was held inside the N.O.C building, conducted and supervised by N.O.C with Ministry staff in Lagos.
5. The South-West Archery Zone is also passing a vote of no confidence and request for the hosting of the election in Lagos; as holding it in Abuja will definitely impede the success of the Lagos National Open Championship and continued development of Archery in Nigeria.
6. The President and the Executive Board members have failed to actualize article 13 of the Federation constitution which states that the ‘body shall appoint an external body like Nigeria Olympic Committee or government agency in charge of sport or a mix of the two bodies conduct the election in accordance with the Federation’s constitution’.
7. Various shortcomings in the leadership of the Federation have been identified:
a. The President’s absence from all programmes outside Abuja since assuming office.
b. Lack of support or acknowledgement for athletes representing the Federation internationally.
c. Non-participation in national sporting events such as the National Sports Festival and National Youth Games.
d. Inadequate efforts towards promoting and advancing the sport.
e. Limited engagement with stakeholders and state associations.
f. Hindrance of participation in the last National Sports Festival in Asaba.
8. The Federation’s suspension and looming ban (Nigeria will not be allowed to compete internationally if our situation remains the same by April 1, 2024) by the international body is attributed to the outgoing President and Executives’ ineffective performance.
9. Concerns are raised regarding the residence of zonal representatives, primarily based in Abuja, impeding their active involvement in the development of archery in their respective zones.
10. The President unilaterally prepared and sent a bill of N 2,675,000:00 to the Lagos State Archery Association as part of the condition to host the congress. We were reliably informed that the outrageous bill was never discussed by the Federation board at any given time.
11. The outgoing board’s negligence has restrained the implementation of the international body’s plans for Nigerian Archers, resulting in a lack of seminars, World Archery training, workshops, symposiums, and demonstrations at national events.
12. We are saying, that in the interest of development and unity of archery, the game we all love passionately, the election is best done in Lagos as initially scheduled.
13. This communiqué serves as a pivotal to address critical issues militating against the sport’s growth and equally highlights the imperative for effective leadership and development within the Nigeria Archery Federation.