Delegates and newly elected board members of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) have started arriving in Abuja ahead of the Federation’s presidential election, reports firstzealmediacastblog.com.

The AFN presidential election, which has suffered multiple setbacks and a shift in date and venue, is scheduled to be held tomorrow. Initially scheduled for Asaba, Delta State on May 31, the polls were shifted to June 12 by the last Extra Ordinary Congress of the AFN in Abeokuta after the National Sports Commission (NSC), advised that the elections be moved from Asaba to a neutral venue since at that time three of the four known presidential aspirants were from Delta State.

Following the directive from the NSC, one of the aspirants, a former Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence, Commodore Omatseye Nesiama (Retd), strategically pulled out of the race, while another aspirant, Constantine Itiako Ikpokpo, fondly called Malik, was beaten at the South-South Zonal polls by Gabriel.

Another person eyeing the AFN’s top office, Sunday Adeleye, is still trying to get into the new AFN board from the North West Zone. His name will not likely be on the ballot tomorrow as the Electoral Appeals Committee is yet to deliver judgment on his case after the North West Zonal election.

Another zonal election in the AFN board that is far from being settled is the South-East representative, with two candidates fighting for the sole ticket.

It’s a massive battle before the Election Appeals Committee between the AFN Performance Director and a former athlete, Victor Okorie, who is seeking re-election into the board, and another former athlete, Innocent Ugochukwu Iheme.

Similarly, the election for the technical officials and coaches’ representative on the board, a contest between Solomon Aliyu and Professor Lucas Ogunjimi, is yet to be concluded.

The first round of voting resulted in a 26-26 tie, and the second round also failed to produce a winner, finishing 11-11 in another deadlock.

With no clear winner, the contest now shifts to Abuja, where a final decision will be made today.

The heated and controversial election of the National Association of Women in Sports (NAWIS) may also be challenged due to eligibility of the winner, a former quartermiler, Fatima Yusuf, as their representative on the new look AFN board. She is reportedly eyeing the position of Second Vice President of the Federation.

The elections of athletes’ representatives and representatives of National Association Of Physical, Health Education, Recreation, Sports and Dance (NAPHER-SD) are yet to be decided.

Olalekan Stephen Soetan, Gabriel Okon, Olufemi Sule and Fatima Yusuf have secured their seats on the new AFN board.