Controversy trails ownership of Former Female Athletes Association

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The Association of Former Female Athletes of Nigeria has been thrown into controversy over the ownership and leadership of the association.

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Aggrieved members of AFFAN have accused the acting president, Mrs Esther Aluko, of allegedly altering the association’s documents with the aim of claiming sole ownership of the association.

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The members, in a petition to the Corporate Affairs Commission dated July 27, 2026, and signed by a retired Air Commodore, Rahinatu Garba, alleged that Mrs Aluko connived with some insiders to tamper with the association’s documents registering AFFAN with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

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Mrs Garba, who spoke with newsmen in Minna, further alleged that Mrs Aluko not only claims ownership of AFFAN but also tampered with its constitution to enable her to illegally change some trustees to suit her purpose.

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She maintained that there was an illegal amendment of the Constitution without due process of the law.

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The petition, which read in parts, stated, “There has been an illegal amendment of the AFFAN constitution without due process as stipulated in Section 12 of the AFFAN constitution with CAC and Section 16.1 of the current AFFAN constitution.

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“AFFAN, CAC Reg. No: 125037, is an Incorporated Trustee owned by its members and governed by the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020. It is not owned by any individual. We, the Concerned Founding and Financial Members of AFFAN, wish to state that no single co-founder can or has the right to claim ownership of AFFAN.

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“That one individual is parading herself as the founder, and claiming personal and absolute power to unilaterally remove, appoint trustees and amend the constitution; these claims and many more are false and unlawful as no individual has such powers under CAMA 2020,” Garba alleged.

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The petitioners insisted that the leadership of AFFAN, including Esther Aluko, since inauguration, had been in an acting capacity and therefore wondered how somebody in an acting capacity would suddenly assume powers to not only tamper with the constitution, appoint and/or direct state coordinators to hand over to her trusted accomplices, but also dictate what happens on the association’s platform.

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Arewa PUNCH put a call across to Mrs Esther Aluko on Wednesday for her reaction to the allegation, during which she denied any wrongdoing.

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Aluko said the petition and allegation were not in the interest of the association.

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Narrating her side of the story, she clarified that the association resolved that the leadership of the association must be former athletes who represented Nigeria at international sporting events, not practising athletes who are still on the field.

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Mrs Aluko further explained, “The vision behind the Association of Former Female Athletes of Nigeria was conceived in 2017 through my vision as Dr. (Mrs.) Esther Oluwatoyin Aluko. I am an accomplished former international athlete, coach, and sports administrator with over four decades of distinguished service to Nigerian sports.

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“Having devoted my life to sports as an athlete and administrator, I, Dr Aluko, recognise the significant gap in Nigeria’s sports development structure. I observed that many retired female athletes, who had sacrificed their youthful years representing Nigeria with honours and distinctions, were often left without opportunities to continue contributing to sports development after retirement.

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“Elite athletes dedicate the most productive years of their lives to rigorous training, competitions, and national service while many of their contemporaries pursue other careers. Their sacrifices extend beyond physical exertion to include personal, educational, family, and professional opportunities.

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“Driven by this conviction, I envisioned an organisation that would preserve the legacy of Nigeria’s former female athletes while providing them with a platform to continue contributing meaningfully to sports administration, governance, mentoring, advocacy, and youth development. Thus, the vision of the Association of Former Female Athletes of Nigeria (AFFAN) was born,” she said.

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