The eyes on Ekeji’s vacant seat

Penultimate Tuesday, the former Green Eagles defender who was appointed substantive Director General of the NSC by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2009 following the redeployment of Dr. Amos Adamu to the Presidency as the Permanent Secretary in charge of Special Duties exited because his contract was not renewed by the presidency.In order to […]

Penultimate Tuesday, the former Green Eagles defender who was appointed substantive Director General of the NSC by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2009 following the redeployment of Dr. Amos Adamu to the Presidency as the Permanent Secretary in charge of Special Duties exited because his contract was not renewed by the presidency.
In order to fill the vaccum that has been created by Ekeji’s departure, the minister of sports, Bolaji Abdullahi has since forwarded four names to the presidency out of which a new substantive DG of the NSC would be appointed. It is now an open secret that the present Director of Elite Athletes Development in the commission, Dr. Bolaji Ojo-Oba, Director of Grassroots sports development, Malam Alhassan Yakmut, president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, and PDP stalwart, Chief Solomon Ogba and former Commissioner of sports in Ogun State, Bukola Olopade have been nominated by the sports minister.
Shot! can report that the battle for who succeeds Ekeji started long before now. It is said it is in a bid to continue with the Dr. Amos Adamu’s dynasty in the sports commission that the former Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Federation, Dr. Ojo-Oba, a known loyalist of the former member of the FIFA Executive Committee was reinstated by a committee of the Federal Civil Service Commission which was mandated to look into his compulsory retirement by the NSC after he was sacked by the Alhaji Aminu Maigari led NFF Executive Committee.
The Disciplinary and Appeal Committee of the Civil Service Commission asked the National Sports Commission, (NSC), to re-instate former Secretary General, Nigeria Football Federation, (NFF), Dr. Bolaji Ojo-Oba to his position as Deputy Director, Sports Development, NSC on Grade Level 16 with effect from August, 2010. He would later be elevated to his present position as Director of Elites Athletes in the Commission.
The return of Ojo-Oba to the commission despite the charges of corruption brought against him by the EFCC following his sack along with three other Executive Committee members of the NFF sparked off criticisms from different quarters. However, he was able to weather the storm to remain in his position with his eyes glued on the exalted position of the DG, NSC.
It is said his return sent shivers down the spine of the present Director of Grassroots sports development, Malam Yakmut who had a cordial working relationship with the former DG, Ekeji and was widely tipped as his successor. Today whatever fears that were entertained by Yakmut following the return of Ojo-Oba have been proved right as he must surmount Ojo-Oba’s hurdle, if he is to realise his dream of becoming the DG.
For many, the race for the position of DG of the NSC is a straight fight between Ojo-Oba and Yakmut but recent developments suggest that in the end, none of them may be able to realise his ambition.
According to most analysts, the arrival of the president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, Chief Ogba on the scene has changed all the initial calculations. Considering where he is coming from, Ogba is highly favoured to clinch the position. At the moment, the former commissioner of sports in Delta State has proved his mettle as president of the AFN and he is a staunch member of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, a credential which has also made him a member of the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, representing Delta State. And if he is actually coming from the Presidency, Ogba may be few weeks away from succeeding Ekeji.
Former Ogun State commissioner of sports, Olopade may not boast of the kind of credentials his opponents are parading but he cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand. It will be recalled that he was once favoured to come into the NFF as its General Secretary because of his dynamism and intellectual capacity. He is also a an astute politician.
From the foregoing, it is not yet clear who would emerge as the next DG of NSC. It is going to be a straight fight between the camp of Dr. Amos Adamu who is still a force to reckon with as far as Nigerian sports is concerned and the immediate past DG, Chief Ekeji. These acclaimed sports administrators would play key roles in who emerges the next DG of NSC.
However, while the two camps would be busy slugging it out to ensure victory for either Ojo-Oba or Yakmut, the Presidency could sneak in and grab the seat by appointing its anointed candidate. A Director in the NSC who spoke to Shot! on condition of anonymity said nobody can say for sure who is going to succeed Ekeji.
He said if it were by natural succession in line with civil service rules, Ojo-Oba would have automatically succeeded Ekeji considering that he is the most senior sports director in the commission.
The Director observed that since the appointment is political, the next DG can come from outside the commission. He maintained that the Presidency is interested in who becomes the next DG and so it may not succumb to the laid down civil service procedure concerning the vacant position.
“I want to confirm to you that the minister of sports has since forwarded four names of possible replacement for Chief Patrick Ekeji. It is a fact that two of my colleagues, Bolaji Ojo-Oba and Alhassan Yakmut are among the names submitted.
“In the end, none of them may succeed Ekeji because this appointment is not restricted to civil servants. It is political and the Presidency may appoint any person it considers suitable for the vacant position. If not for this reason, Ojo-Oba would have naturally succeeded Ekeji”.
 This is therefore, the setting for the battle of who steps into the shoes of Chief Ekeji whose tenure as the DG of the NSC is said to be less fruitful. Most of his critics say in view of the fact that he survived so many ministers who came and left without anything to show as legacies, Ekeji as the administrative head of the commission should have given Nigerian sports a definite direction to follow. As such his critics also say his shoes cannot be too large for any of the nominees to fill.