A presidential aspirant in the forthcoming Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) elections, Mallam Ahmed Shuaibu Gara Gombe, has called for the postponement of the electoral process in honour of the 22 Kano athletes who perished in a fatal motor accident while returning home from the just concluded National Sports Festival in Ogun State.

Describing the death of the athletes as a national tragedy, the former Chairman of Gombe State Football Association said it would be insensitive, inhuman and inappropriate to proceed with the elections into the AFN Board at this time that the sports fraternity in Nigeria is still mourning the deceased.

“While some may argue that the electoral process is legal, with what has happened, the timing is now both insensitive and unjustified. Today (Sunday), that’s just 24 hours after the horrific incident, I read a statement announcing the scheduling of these elections, when we all ought to be mourning the 22 lives lost in a single day.

“The government must act to halt the electoral process, at least until the official mourning period is over, which according to Islamic tradition is seven days. And if the elections go on regardless, I believe that, sooner or later, they will be declared null and void”, he asserted.

Meanwhile, Gara Gombe also conveyed his heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the government and people of Kano State as well as the families of the victims of the tragic accident.

The Chairman, Proprietor, and CEO of the Athletics Academy, and Green White Green Sports Center Limited, said the untimely demise of the Kano athletes and officials should serve as a sobering reminder of man’s mortality.