By Georgina Adegbie
The Interim President of the Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF), Azania Omo-Agege, has called for greater professionalism in selecting and preparing boxers for international competitions.
He stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
His call followed Nigeria’s poor performance at a recent World Boxing Federation event in London.
Omo-Agege criticised the selection process, describing it as controversial and lacking transparency, which he said contributed to the nation’s poor showing at the tournament.
He expressed concern over the absence of due process in preparing athletes for such a high-level competition.
According to him, a proposal was submitted to the National Sports Commission (NSC) in May, but no training camp was organised to assess and select top performers.
“Normally, you bring medalists from the last competition into camp, test them again, and select those in form.
”Instead, they just handpicked three boxers from Lagos and took them abroad with their local coach, sidelining the national coach,” he said.
He claimed the NBF leadership was sidelined, as the Federation’s Secretary General, Olalekan Fasesin, and a board member made the selections without following established protocols.
Omo-Agege warned that such practices damage the sport’s integrity and increase risks like athletes absconding during foreign trips.
He lamented Nigeria’s failure to meet international standards, including gender verification for female boxers, which limited participation.
“We lost the chance to field more athletes because mandatory gender tests weren’t conducted. That’s unacceptable at this level,” he added.
He pledged to submit a formal petition to the National Assembly and demanded full accountability for all funds disbursed for the London event.
Omo-Agege called for unity among stakeholders, insisting that transparency and fairness are critical if Nigerian boxing is to attain its full potential. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Joseph Edeh