A group has called on the Senate to investigate the appointment of a former Vice-President of the Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF), Dr. Joseph Ayeni as chairman, caretaker committee of the NBF by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The group in a petition it submitted to the Chairman, Senate Committee on Sports, Senator Obinna Joseph Ogba, in Abuja, on Monday, said the Ministry disregarded an alleged indictment and impeachment of Ayeni by the board of NBF in the past in making him the interim chairman of the NBF.
Those who signed the petition include Mr. David Amade, Yila Yusuf Tal, Femi Ayandibu, Azania Omo-Agege, Lukmon Lawal and Chief Chief Ogbu Osondu.
They accused the Ministry of imposition while describing the appointment as an embarrassment and surprise to NBF stakeholders in particular and the country in general.
The petition reads in part: “This imposition is an attack not only on the sensitivities of the honorable members of the NBF but also on the athletes, whose welfare were treated with disdain and criminal negligence, as well as other member associations, whose authority were usurped by the self-styled messiah of boxing
“To every sane mind, this singular act has positioned the Ministry as a biased umpire, which further jeopardises the survival of our sport by putting the reins of management in the hands of the same people whose immediate past actions put Nigeria Boxing in comatose.”