• ‘SOMEONE I BEGGED FOR FUND SAID HE HAD ALREADY DONATED TO AGCPC!’

• REFEREE REFUSES TO DECLARE RESULTS OVER NON-PAYMENT

• SPORTS C’TE CANCELS TENNIS EVENTS

• ‘NON-PAYMENT OF PRIZE MONIES BY NBA MUST STOP!’ – SPORTS C’TE CHAIR

Crisis has engulfed some sports events at the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference (NBA-AGC), CITY LAWYER can report.

CITY LAWYER gathered that aside from cancelling some scheduled sports events which the competitors had paid for due to non-release of funds by the AGC planning Committee (AGCPC), the Chairman of the AGC Sports Sub-Committee, Mr. Anthony Atata has heaped the blame for the chaos that has enveloped the sports events on the AGCPC.

The crisis peaked last night when the referee for the scrabble competition bluntly refused to declare the results, saying that he has not been paid. As things stand, the results of the competition are yet to be known by the participants and other stakeholders.

According to a post obtained by CITY LAWYER, Atata revealed that in his frantic efforts to raise funds to save some of the scheduled events, “One of the people I reached out to informed me that he had already donated towards the event . I know some other people would have done so too.”

In the post made on the WhatsApp group of those who paid entry fees to play Table Tennis, Scrabble and Chess, an apparently embarrassed Apata wrote: “It is with a deep sense of regret that I announce that we are unable to organise the Table Tennis events (4 categories of Male , Female, Para Male and Female)

“It’s a shame and very depressing that we can’t continue because of funds. The Conference Planning Committee has failed to disburse funds to organise these events that are so close to our hearts.

“I do not know the reason why this is so. However, we were able to pull off swimming and Chess successfully because of the support we had from M. A. Lawan, former Chair of Kano Branch and former Attorney General of Kano State.

“The shocking incident at the end of the Scrabble tournament was a huge shame which left me and the contestants in trauma. I wish it didn’t happen that way. I must say that all reactions to that incident were valid.

In the past 24 hours, I have been making frantic calls to see how we could raise funds to organise the Table Tennis tournament to no avail. One of the people I reached out to informed me that he had already donated towards the event . I know some other people would have done so too.

“I am deeply terrified that even if we risk organising the Table events , we may have a repeat of what happened at the scrabble event.

“While I sincerely apologise to our colleagues for the unfortunate outcome of this, especially in scrabble and Table Tennis, I am unable to accept responsibility because we were ready to serve but the Planning Committee couldn’t deliver their side of the bargain by making funds available for other sports.

“I apologise to our colleagues playing Table Tennis who took steps to come to Freedom Park yesterday 26th of August 2024 only to be informed that it won’t happen again. I am indeed very sorry for the inconveniences.

“I specifically apologise to our colleagues who signed up for this competition because I was involved. I assure you that this does not reflect my reputation in Sports and should not diminish any regards previously accorded. It was because of you that I fought so hard to ensure that things went well. I also thank you for your understanding .

“Again, I wish things didn’t happen this way. I am unable to answer incidental questions such as how entry fees will be refunded because that is under the exclusive powers of the conference Planning.

“However, I will continue to push to ensure that the Conference Planning committee and the NBA take steps to do the right thing by redeeming Prize monies. As a Sport promoter myself, I know that the integrity of sport tournaments lie in giving out Prize monies immediately after any competition at the venue of such competition.

“Not paying out Prize monies of Sports events in NBA tournament has become an embarrassing pattern in our association. This must stop. For the events we were able to pull off, I will continue to engage to ensure that you receive your Prizes.

“Thank you very much for your understanding and may you enjoy the rest of the conference.”

The AGCPC is yet to respond to the issues.