BY SUNDAY AKINTOYE
Chief Executive Officer of Yucateco Boxing Promotion, Omonlei Yakubu Imodu, has blasted the executive members of Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF) for being corrupt and failure to move the body forward in the last few years.
YUCATECO boss, who attended the Annual General Meeting of the NBF on Monday walked out at the meeting and protested against plans to manipulate electoral rules.
Speaking with journalists in Abeokuta, Imodu said the body has failed to live up to its responsibilities, saying that until certain board members are removed, the game of boxing would continue to suffer at various levels in the country.
He also accused some of the board members of trying to smuggle in some clauses in the election guidelines that will prevent certain individuals from contesting the forthcoming board election of the Federation.
Imadu, who also doubles as the President of Boxing Promoters Association of Nigeria (BPAN) insisted that he will do all within his powers to ensure that the coming election in the NBF follows due process.
He stressed that if boxing in Nigeria must move forward, then the board must be occupied by credible persons and ready to sacrifice for the good of the sport.
He also pointed a certain board member, who had spent over 35 years on the board without any meaningful contributions of trying to manipulate the process and even threatening to stop the boxing league.
“I decided to walk out of the Annual General meeting when I discovered that certain individuals who do not want the sport to move forward are bent on introducing some clauses that will prevent genuine stakeholders from contesting election.
”What I am saying is that the election must follow due process to enable us get a credible board and I want to urge the NSC not to allow anybody to manipulate the process.
“We must all follow and encourage the good vision of National Sports Commission Chairman, Mallam Dikko Shehu and the Director General, Bukola Olopade who have been very objective from the beginning, to restructure the system so that sponsors and private individuals can come in for the sports to grow
Imodu, while welcoming the AGM which took place for the first time in several years,insisted that his venture into boxing promotion is to help the abandoned boxers give them the platform to continue their boxing career.
“Actually, I am happy that this AGM is holding after several years but what am saying is that things must be done properly for the interest of the game.
“I am a boxing stakeholder and what is important to me is the development of talented Nigerian pugilists and creating enabling environment for them to excel in their career.
“By doing this, we have to protect them. I am more or less like the voice for the voiceless as far as boxing is concerned, because one of the systemic problems that I’ve identified that actually made me to come into boxing is that the majority of the people who are practicing this game from the grassroots, are illiterates.
”Many of them didn’t go to school. And the few among us, the boxing stakeholders tend to take advantage of them. They manipulate them and that’s why the system is not developing and I am here to change that narrative and will do all within my powers to ensure that the right things are done”, he concluded
