NAN-S-17

Inauguration
By Ja’afar Lawal/Dorcas Jonah
Abuja, June 12, 2017 (NAN) Solomon Dalung, the Minister of Youths and Sports, on Monday in Abuja urged members of the electoral committees for the National Sports Federation elections to deliver transparent and credible elections.

Dalung gave the advice when he inaugurated the 93 members of the 31 electoral committees for the 2017 National Sports Federation elections.

He said conducting elections had never been an easy task, adding that it required courage, resilience and integrity.

Dalung listed some of the committees’ mandates to include: verification of candidates’ qualifications, conduct of elections for the zonal members, Vice-Presidents and Presidents of the federations.

He however said that a candidate could only be disqualified from contesting the elections based on the elections’ guidelines.

“The electoral officer must have the courage to do what is right, fair and just. He must have the resilience to weather the storm of criticism and unfair allegations.

“In our case, elections into the National Sports Federations are made even more difficult by the fact that sports is our national passion and everyone wants us to get it right.

“Apart from the transition from the old tradition, where 13 people are appointed into the boards to elect the Federation president, the expansion of the Electoral College from 13 to 54 people is a unique challenge.

“It is in this context that I congratulate each of the members of the committees for their nomination.

“This indicates the hope and belief of the nation in your abilities to deliver this assignment right,” the minister said.

Dalung said it was important to get the elections right, adding that it was the foundation of the change the present adminstration was trying to establish.

 He said the outcome of the elections would either justify or vilify the ministry’s intentions.

“It is the credibility of the process that will vindicate our stand to democratise the Sports Federations.

“If the process is fair, transparent and credible, both winners and losers will have a sense of victory because each party will know that the results were deserved,” the minister said.

Dalung said National Sports Federations were responsible for the growth of their respective sport and were expected to work with their respective affiliated Sports Associations.

He added that the Federations were also expected work with the private sector and ensure private initiatives work for the overall development of their sports.

“This makes it imperative to get the leadership of our sports federations right as the existing electoral process is usually manipulated, not transparent and not in line with international best practices.

“We hope that with these elections, all these will be changed and we are counting on the members of the electoral committees to make this happen,” Dalung said.

In the same vein, Dalung also inaugurated a seven-member Electoral Appeal Committee to look into all complaints arising from the elections.

He urged the members to be fair, transparent and unbiased in the discharge of their duties.

“You are expected to imbibe unbiased virtues in the discharge of your duties,” the minister said.

 Responding on behalf of the electoral committees, Kaifas Lar, one of the committees’ chairmen, pledged to conduct fair and transparent elections.(NAN)
JL/DE/OFN/OLAL
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(Edited by Felix Nwadioha and Olawale Alabi)