The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has demanded the immediate inauguration of the 17-member governing board of the National Sports Commission (NSC), warning that the commission is operating illegally.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by Ikenna Okonkwo, Secretary-General, SWAN, Sunday, August 10, 2025.
The statement said that SWAN President Isaiah Benjamin said the NSC has been functioning without a statutory board since its creation in October 2024, in violation of the NSC Establishment Act 2023.
“As a statutory board member of the NSC, I’m compelled to urge the Chairman and Director-General to take all necessary steps to inaugurate the board without further delay,” Benjamin said.
“Operating without a duly constituted board for nearly a year is not only a breach of the law but also undermines transparency and accountability.”
Benjamin highlighted that the Act “is very clear” on the composition of the board, which includes representatives from various ministries and sports bodies, including SWAN.
He stressed that without a board, all major decisions made since October 2024 “lack legal backing”.
The SWAN president also criticised the NSC for operating as a “two-man entity” and linked the situation to a wider pattern of governance lapses in Nigerian sports.
He lamented the neglect of the association’s expertise in overseeing the media operations of sports federations, calling it a “missed opportunity to leverage professional sports journalism for national sports growth”.
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