Gara-Gombe: NOC Needs Regime Change, Not More Years Under Gumel

Ahmed Shuaibu Gara-Gombe, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Athletics and Other Sports Development Commission, has called for a change of leadership at the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), accusing the organisation of lacking direction, accountability and meaningful development programmes.

Gara-Gombe, who spoke in an interview with journalists on Sunday in Abuja, said the forthcoming NOC elections provided an opportunity to replace what he described as an ineffective leadership structure under the committee’s president, Habu Gumel.

He argued that the NOC needed administrators with proven records who could provide a clear vision for Nigerian sport, rather than prolonging the current leadership’s tenure.

“What programmes does he have in the Nigerian Olympic Committee? Nothing,” Gara-Gombe said, referring to Gumel’s leadership.

“So, if there must be regime change, that is the place where we need it, not in the NFF, which they are clamouring for.”

The former Gombe Athletics Association chairman identified Nigeria Table Tennis Federation administrator Wahid Enitan Oshodi, Nigeria Volleyball Federation president Musa Nimrod and Commodore Omatseye Nesiama as among individuals he believes have the credibility and experience to contribute to a new direction for the NOC.

“There are so many credible people within the federations,” he said. “These are people of credible substance.”

He questioned how long Gumel intended to remain in office, stressing that continued leadership should be based on performance and measurable achievements.

“How long does he want to stay there? He was there before. He came back, and if he is performing, nobody will complain,” Gara-Gombe said.

He also criticised what he described as the NOC’s failure to demonstrate independence despite its status as a private organisation.

“If you look at the opening chapter of NOC, it says an independent private organisation. But they are still occupying Federal Government offices. Where is the independence?” he asked.

Gara-Gombe further accused the NOC of failing to adequately promote the Olympic movement in Nigeria through the organisation of the Olympic Day Run.

He argued that the annual event should serve as a major platform for promoting Olympic values and grassroots participation rather than being reduced to symbolic activities.

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“It is only in Nigeria that we know people give T-shirts, take pictures, run 50 metres around the stadium and say they have finished the Olympic Day Run,” he said.

The sports administrator also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who he noted is the Grand Patron of the NOC, to intervene in the committee’s affairs and ensure a change in its leadership.

“This is the one we should call for the intervention of President Tinubu,” Gara-Gombe said.

He maintained that the NOC urgently needed credible leadership capable of restoring accountability, development and professionalism to Nigeria’s Olympic movement.