CONFUSION REIGNS OVER NOC ELECTION

There is confusion over the date fixed for the election of the Executive Committee of the Nigeria Olympic Committee as the First Vice-President of the body, Jonathan Nnaji, queried the authority of the NOC Public Relations Officer, Tony Nezianya, in opposing the board's decision on an agreed date.

Nezianya, in a press release on Wednesday, had called on the stakeholders to discountenance the May 4 date given by the NOC board in March, saying the report of the Rev. Moses Iloh-led Reconciliatory Committee had to be deliberated upon before a date was fixed.

Nnaji told our correspondent on the telephone on Thursday that Nezianya acted alone in his statement. He said the NOC board had not changed its position on the date and had not instructed the PRO to do so.

He said, 'The PRO has no power to overturn the decision of the board and none of the board members instructed him refute the decision taken on the election.

'Neither the executive committee nor the board has met so it is a surprise that the PRO could be speaking on behalf of the body when no one instructed him. The information he gave is misleading and should not be regarded as the position of the NOC.

'The NOC board is superior to the executive committee and in the absence of the President, Habu Gumel, I am in charge. The last time the board met, we followed the NOC constitution as we took the decision and the President was aware of the outcome.'

Nezianya, who defended his action on Thursday, told our correspondent on the telephone that he did the right thing.

He said, 'I was elected as a member of the board just like Nnaji and I don't take instructions from him on how to do my job.'

Iloh reacted to the confusion by blaming the sport federations presidents of not following the constitution to the letter before taking the decision on the election.

'The people that met in March formed the majority of the federations helmsmen. They did not represent the board of the NOC,' Iloh said on the telephone on Thursday.

'However, they could use their strength to call an emergency meeting where they would deliberate on the report submitted to the President and fix a date for election.'