Nigeria Archery Federation Crisis: Barred delegates fume over AGM exclusion

The Nigeria Archery Federation‘s (NAFED) Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the ANOCA office in Abuja on Monday, 10 March, has been rocked with allegations of denial of some delegates’ entry into the venue.

The alleged exclusion of these delegates has sparked fresh outrage, further intensifying calls for leadership change within the federation.

At the heart of the crisis is NAFED President Mohammed Abdullahi, who has been in office for nearly a decade despite mounting opposition and demands for fresh leadership.

Mr Abdullahi and his allies are accused of deliberately blocking opposition voices from attending the AGM to prevent a vote of no confidence from being passed against the embattled president.

Delegates speak out against exclusion

Former NAFED Secretary Gbenga Boluji was among those barred from entry. Expressing his frustration to journalists, he stated:

“We arrived at the venue, but they refused to let us in after collecting our money. I was shocked because even World Archery had asked us to come and present our case. Instead, Tarik (Amiry), the African representative from World Archery, requested my documents but did not allow me inside. Documents alone won’t fight for us—they can easily be ignored. It is clear he is siding with Abdullahi.”

Mr Boluji further alleged that the justification for barring delegates was fabricated:

“They claimed we weren’t up to date with membership fees, but that is a lie. No one has ever paid membership fees since the inception of Nigerian archery. Suddenly, they used this excuse to block us. Meanwhile, they allowed two out of ten legitimate state representatives to enter while presenting 17 ‘delegates’ from states that don’t even practice archery. Our constitution doesn’t permit that. This is manipulation to retain power.”

Another aggrieved delegate, Oguntayo Idris from Ogun State, decried the exclusion of legitimate archers from the meeting:

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“Eight out of the ten archery states were left outside. We paid all our dues, yet only two were allowed inside. They also suddenly demanded a ₦20,000 affiliation fee, which has never been required before. No one in NAF has ever paid such a fee, yet they forced us to pay it into a personal account belonging to Mr. Rabiu just to be allowed inside. We complied because we wanted to voice our grievances to the world body, but it was all a ploy to shut us out.”

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Mr Idris accused Mr Abdullahi of using archery for personal gain:

“None of the people inside are real archers. I personally introduced archery to Edo, Rivers, and Bayelsa. I trained military and paramilitary personnel across Nigeria. The people inside were handpicked by Abdullahi to maintain his grip on power. After two failed terms, what has he contributed to archery? Nothing. He is using the federation for his personal benefit, and we won’t allow it anymore.”

Tantur Namwar, a delegate from Plateau State, also encountered obstruction at the venue:

“I arrived in the morning and saw the gate surrounded by police. When I identified myself, I found my name had been altered and merged with another name, effectively invalidating my identity. Despite presenting evidence of my payments, I was still denied entry. The affiliation fee, which was last set at ₦24,000 in 2019, was suddenly increased to ₦35,000 without justification. This was all a trick to keep us out and protect the fraudulent election they conducted last year. Only two people were allowed in, making this entire meeting a sham.”

Growing calls for intervention

For analysts, the exclusion of key delegates from the AGM has further damaged the credibility of the Nigeria Archery Federation under Mr Abdullahi’s leadership.

Many within the sport believe this was a calculated move to prevent a vote of no confidence against him.

The crisis has already drawn attention from World Archery, which had instructed concerned parties to present their grievances at the meeting.

However, with allegations of bias against the World Archery representative, Tarik Amiry, faith in the international body’s intervention is beginning to wane.