Rugby Africa gives Nigeria till Friday to reinstate board

Following the dissolution of the board of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF), Rugby Africa, the mother body of all federations on the continent has asked the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports to reinstate the dissolved board.

In a statement, the President of Rugby Africa, Khaled Babbou reminded the minister of sports, Sunday Dare that the constitution of the NRFF which was ratified at the Extraordinary General Meeting held in Lagos on 3rd March 2018, was formally approved by the Rugby Africa and World Rugby, aclsports.com reports.

The statement read that the constitution ratified at the National, Regional and Global level as well as the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) represented by its Secretary-General specifically stipulates the time and modalities for the elections for a new board of the NRFF which must be held by a duly constituted AGM.

Rugby Africa on Tuesday suspended Nigeria from all its activities, citing the recent ‘illegal’ dissolution of the Nigerian Rugby Football Federation (NRFF) by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.

The implication of the suspension is that Nigeria’s rugby national team (Black Stallions) will not participate in the 2023 Rugby World Cup African qualifier scheduled for Burkina Faso next month, reports aclsports.com

The suspension also affects the women national team earlier billed to feature in their first international championship this year in Burkina Faso.

Nigeria stands a chance of missing the Rugby World Cup African repechage tournament in Burkina Faso next month.

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the Sports Minister on Media, Joshua Akanji dismissed the suspension as fake which should be disregarded.