Nigeria: Over 2,000 IBB Golf Club Members Distance Themselves From Lawsuit Against Wike

21 May 2025
This Day (Lagos)
By Olawale Ajimotokan

Abuja — The ongoing saga at IBB International Golf and Country Club assumed a twist yesterday after no fewer than 2,000 members stormed the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, where they signed a petition distancing themselves from a lawsuit, filed by three members of the club against the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

The leadership crisis led to the intervention of the minister, who constituted an Interim Management Committee (IMC) headed by Peter Deshi, and ordered the indefinite closure of the club.

The decision to sign the petition was taken last week at a stakeholders meeting held at the Golf and Health Signature, Abuja. The petitioners urged Wike to reopen the club.

The action by the petitioners indicated a significant divide within the club, with many members expressing their commitment to lawful engagement with public authorities and respect for the FCT Minister.

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It would be recalled that Wike had on April 5, named an eight-member Board of Trustees, headed by the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem to replace the former BoT headed by Gen. IBM Haruna.

Wike had stressed that the FCT Administration decided to intervene in the matter because it was committed to restoring order and efficiency to the prestigious club, embroiled with internal challenges.

The club's leadership crisis had sparked concerns about governance and structural reforms, with some members drumming 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 BoT as well as restraining Justice Dongban-Mensem from presiding over the club's Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for April 26.

In a bid to stabilize the situation, Wike ordered the IMC to oversee the club's administration, while the federal government also deployed operatives of the Nigeria Police and Department of State Services (DSS) to secure the premises and avert further unrest.

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