Former Atlanta Olympic Games 4x400m silver medalist, Fatima Yusuf-Olukoju, has promised to bring to bear her experience as a former athlete, coach and administrator to the board of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria(AFN).

Yusuf-Olukoju was elected to the AFN board yesterday as representative of the National Association of Women in Sports (NAWIS).

The former quarter miler who won the Olympic silver medal in the 4x400m along with teammates like Bisi Afolabi, Charity Opara and Falilat Ogunkoya, however have to face the National Sports Commission’s Electoral Petition Committee to sort out her eligibility for yesterday’s contest.

Veteran female sports broadcaster, Dr Nneka Anibeze, who lost the election 15-30 is however contesting Yusuf-Olukoju’s eligibility for the board based on the electoral guidelines.

“Before the election, I pointed out Article 7.0 of the AFN guidelines and the 5.0 of the National Sports Commission’s guidelines which state that even if a contestant is not living in Nigeria, he or she  must provide evidence of residency in the country for at least six months prior to the election.” 

Fatima-Olukoju lives in the United States of America with her husband, Adewale Olukoju, another former Nigerian star athlete.

Dr Anibeze stressed that the leadership of NAWIS ignored her protest and went on with the election. “I told them last night that I will file  protest, and they tried to dissuade me. But I am not someone to cause trouble. I just want a fair process. So I submitted my protest letter to the Electoral Petition Committee. I also copied NAWIS, AFN and the Director General of the NSC,” observed the veteran sports broadcaster.

Earlier, speaking shortly after she was declared the winner of the NAWIS ticket, Yusuf-Olukoju thanked members of the association for the confidence reposed in her as their representative on the AFN board.

“I am going out there to represent every girl out there. I ran track . I have the experience as an athlete, coach, administrator and businesswoman. I will work tirelessly to better the lot of our gender in Nigeria’s track & field,” observed the former quarter miler.

The news of the election of Yusuf-Olukoju  to the AFN board was greeted with excitement by past and present athletes.

Speaking on her election, another veteran athlete, Dr Bruce Ijirigho congratulated Yusuf-Olukoju. “Congratulations Fatima. I am confident that you will be a strong voice for positive changes on the AFN board. Please don’t sell out like many others before you. As long as the athletes and their trajectory to stardom at  all  times are first on your mind, you will be successful. Good luck,” concludes Ijirigho, one of Nigeria’s greatest quarter-milers.