Mass Disqualification Precedes Sports Federation Elections

No fewer than 177 of 396 candidates jostling for positions in the 31 sports federations in Nigeria may have been disqualified in the election that will hold in Abuja on Tuesday. Most of the disqualified candidates are said not to have presented tax clearance in their application forms.

In some instances, the clearances presented were adjudged not up to date. In other instances, the candidates are reportedly not to have indicated their constituencies and are therefore disqualified.

In the contest for membership of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, nearly half of the candidates have been disqualified on account of incomplete documentation. The disqualified ones, most of whom are notable names, did not include birth certificate or age declaration, educational background and means of identities.

Therefore out of the 25 contestants, 10 have been disqualified. In badminton, the same scenario played out as eight of the 16 contestants have been disqualified for tax certificate related reasons.

Of the 31 sports bodies, only that relating to deaf sports had all its 11 contestants cleared. The sports federation with the highest ratio of disqualification is golf where 11 of the 14 contestants have been disqualified. This is followed by table tennis where 10 of the 16 contestants have been ruled out.

TABLE OF CONTESTANTS

1. Athletics                  25 candidates                   10 disqualified                      15 cleared
2. Aquatic                     11 candidates                    3 disqualified                        8 cleared
3. Badminton               16 candidates                     8 disqualified                         8 cleared
4. Basketball                   7 candidates                     2 disqualified                         5 cleared
5. Boxing                        13 candidates                     5 disqualified                        8 cleared
6. Chess                             9 candidates                    2 disqualified                        7 cleared
7. Cricket                          11 candidates                     5 disqualified                        6 cleared
8. Cycling                          11 candidates                     7 disqualified                       4 cleared
9. Dart                                 12 candidates                     5 disqualified                       7 cleared
10. Deaf Sport                      11 candidates                      0 disqualified                   11 cleared
11. Fives                                    8 candidates                     2 disqualified                     6 cleared
12. Golf                                     14 candidates                   11 disqualified                     6 cleared
13. Gymnastic                           14 candidates                     6 disqualified                    8 cleared
14. Handball                              17 candidates                    6 disqualified                   11 cleared
15. Hockey                                     7 candidates                      3 disqualified                  4 cleared
16. Judo                                     14 candidates                           7 disqualified                7 cleared
17. Karate                                   13 candidates                          5 disqualified                8 cleared
18. Shooting                                 8 candidates                            3 disqualified               5 cleared
19. Scrabble                                 10 candidates                           3 disqualified               7 cleared
20. Squash                                   14 candidates                             8 disqualified             6 cleared
21. Rugby                                      21 candidates                           14 disqualified           7 cleared
22. Rowing                                    12 candidates                              5 disqualified           7 cleared
23. Kung fu                                    10 candidates                            4 disqualified              6 cleared
24. Kick boxing                             11 candidates                           5 disqualified               6 cleared
25. Table Tennis                          16 candidates                           10 disqualified             6 cleared
26. Taekwondo                              11 candidates                            6 disqualified             5 cleared
27. Tennis                                       16 candidates                              7 disqualified           9 cleared
28. Traditional                                14 candidates                                6 disqualified        8 cleared
29. Volley Ball                                 13 candidates                               4 disqualified        9 cleared
30. Weight lifting                              12 candidates                              4 disqualified        8 cleared
31. Wrestling                                     15 candidates                            4 disqualified        11 cleared