By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has suspended Mr. Olalekan Ige indefinitely as its Deputy Secretary-General for gross misconduct and repeated insubordination.
The decision to suspend Mr. Ige was reached after the virtual meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of SWAN on Thursday March 14, 2024.
A statement from SWAN National Secretariat in Abuja through the Association’s Secretary-General, Amb. Ikenna Okonkwo, revealed that Mr. Ige who was appointed by the President, Mr. Isaiah Benjamin, had been severally adviced by NEC to desist from actions that put the professional body in disrepute, instead, he remained persistent in perpetrating illegality.
“The NEC met and discussed other issues among which was the repeated ways Mr. Olalekan Ige has behaved and worked in deviance to the statutes of SWAN which negates his position as Deputy Secretary-General.
“Ige fraudulently went out of his way to produce letterhead papers in the name of SWAN and used same to issue statements and carried out other dubious activities, an action that he didn’t only use to put the Association in bad light but intended to tarnish the reputation of the respected media professionals in the entire country.
“In doing so also, Ige has gone ahead severally to usurp the powers of SWAN President, Secretary-General and indeed the entire NEC, contrary to Article 11 of SWAN statute which equally amounts to insubordination,” the statement said.
Consequently, the SWAN NEC has asked the suspended National officer to immediately submit every document or property of the Association in his disposal to the National Secretariat.
