Former Athletics Federation of Nigeria president Dan Ngerem has backed the ongoing clean-up process within the Lagos State chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, calling the turmoil affecting the body a “contrived” affair.
Ngerem, who serves as a patron of Lagos SWAN, made his position known in a message to the chairman of the Caretaker Committee, promising complete backing for efforts to restore and rebuild the association.
“I am fully aware of the crisis engulfing the Lagos State chapter of SWAN. What we are witnessing is not an organic disagreement. It is a contrived, orchestrated crisis, a deliberate attempt by invisible hands to destabilize and capture the Association for self-serving ends,” Ngerem said.
He continued: “You have my full support. One hundred percent. Some of us worked very hard in the trenches to restructure and reposition SWAN. I will not stand by and watch an institution we fought for be reduced to an empty shell, invisible, irrelevant and captured.”
Nevertheless, the former AFN chief made clear that his support came with conditions. “Let me state my caveat without ambiguity: I will not work with just anyone. Whoever we work with must be above board, not beholden to the powers that be, not for sale, and must be fully committed to credible, international standards. No compromise on that,” he said.
Ngerem said he hoped Lagos SWAN would regain its place as a watchdog within the sporting community.
Veteran sports journalist and Guild of Sports Editors president Tony Ubani also addressed the dispute, maintaining that only one Lagos SWAN exists: the chapter acknowledged by the national organisation. He urged those promoting division to stop.
Ubani said it was regrettable that some people appeared determined to break up an association that had been united, particularly in Lagos, which he described as Nigeria’s “mecca of sports”.
He appealed for all sides to meet and resolve their differences following the installation of a new Caretaker Committee chaired by Patrick Omorodion, saying colleagues in the same profession had no reason to be split into opposing camps.
Ubani added that the national SWAN leadership, headed by Isaiah Benjamin, fully supports the Lagos chapter and is seeking peace in the state.
Addressing the Lagos SWAN secretariat, Ubani said the facility was established through the efforts and contributions of several former leaders. He questioned how a property created collectively could be controlled by a single individual. “It can only happen in Nigeria,” he said.
