No fewer than 2,000 members of the IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja, have signed a petition distancing themselves from a lawsuit filed by three members of the club against the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

The decision to sign the petition was taken at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Golf and Health Signature, Abuja.

The IBB International Golf and Country Club in Abuja had been embroiled in a leadership crisis, which led to the intervention of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

It will be recalled that on April 5, Wike appointed the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the club, replacing Gen. IBM Haruna.

Other new members of the BOT appointed were Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, Mrs. Grace Ihonvbere, S. I. Ameh (SAN), Hamid Abbo, Admiral Victor Adedipe (rtd), Chief Patrick Chidolue, and Mr. Ikokwu.

Gen. Haruna, King Alfred Diete-Spiff, Dr. Tim Menakaya, and Amb. Babagana Kingibe, all old members of the BOT, were appointed as Patrons of the club, while Chief Philip Asiodu was dropped.

Wike stressed that the intervention was a result of the FCT Administration’s commitment to restoring order and efficiency to the prestigious club, which had recently experienced internal challenges.

The club’s leadership crisis had sparked concerns about governance and structural reforms, with some members expressing support for the Minister’s intervention.

However, the trio of Ubong Esop Akpan, Tijani Abdulsalam Ogueyi, and Olalere Babasola, dissatisfied with the move by Wike, secured an interim court order restraining the Minister from inaugurating a new Board of Trustees (BOT) chaired by Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem.

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on April 24 ruled in favour of the trio, regarding the ongoing leadership dispute at the IBB International Golf and Country Club.

The Court restrained the purported trustees appointed by Nyesom Wike, the Honourable Minister of the FCT, from presiding over the Club’s upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for April 26.

In a bid to stabilise the situation, Wike appointed a 10-member Interim Management Committee (IMC), chaired by Peter Deshi, to oversee the club’s administration.

To avert further unrest, the Federal Government deployed operatives of the Nigeria Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) to secure the premises.

The facility remains under tight surveillance, with access restricted to essential personnel such as security officers and groundskeepers.

Even IMC members are subject to identification checks before entry is granted.

Inside sources disclosed that the closure was also being utilised as a window for comprehensive renovations aimed at upgrading the club to international standards.

The overhaul, entrusted to Julius Berger, the original designer of the course in 1991, will be jointly funded by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Federal Ministry of Works, and the National Sports Commission (NSC).