Anambra stakeholders fault delay in composition of commission, kick against sole administrator

Some stakeholders, under the auspices of Anambra State Major Sports Stakeholders, have faulted the delay in properly constituting and inaugurating the state’s Sports Development Commission almost one year after the House of Assembly passed the bill into law.

Sources close to The Guardian revealed that Governor Obiano was yet to assent the bill into law, while his appointed Chairman, Tony Oli has been running the commission as a sole administrator, contrary to the provisions of the law establishing the commission.

Oli, it was gathered, was moved from State Joint Local Government Account Committee, where he worked as the Chairman, to serve as the Chairman of the expected six-man board of the newly-designated Sports Commission less than two years ago.

The Stakeholders in a statement signed by Joe Onubogu and Dona Ibeneme, lamented a situation “where one man has arrogated to himself the power of deciding the fate of sports in our dear state without the composition and inauguration of five other members of the commission.

“Mr. Oli is presently the Chairman/Secretary/Accountant/and PRO of Anambra State Sports Development Commission, while the bill that establishes (ed) the commission made provisions for six persons, apart from Conventional Civil Servant(s), who are supposed to come on secondment to the commission,” they said.

They alleged that the Sports Commission boss had continued to act as a sole administrator, having allegedly frustrated the drafting of a lawyer to serve as secretary and an accountant, among other civil servants posted by the office of the Head of Service to the commission.

While describing him as a strange element in sports circle, they also faulted him of neglecting Article 21, sub-section 1 of the passed bill “…which clearly stated that quorum of the commission shall be four persons out of six, but in this case, Mr. Oli is the only person running the commission.”

The group called on Obiano “to save sports in Anambra State by constituting Anambra State Sports Development Commission to include a chairman, who is conversant with sports administration, a lawyer from Ministry of Justice as Secretary of the commission, an accountant, three persons from the three senatorial zones as stipulated by the law and two other members making a total of six persons.”

The signatories also suggested that members of the commission should also include a nominee of disabled persons in sports, a representative of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), a school sports representative and a member of Anambra State Football Association.

In addition, the stakeholders urged the governor to pick a day to formally inaugurate the commission (after his assent to the bill) “to give the body the backing of the law as the state is too big for one man in the class of Tony Oli to lay claim to sports monopoly in Anambra State.”