By VICTOR OKOYE

No fewer than 2,000 members of the IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja, have signed a petition for the reopening of the club.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the club has been embroiled in a leadership crisis, which had attracted the intervention of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

The petition was signed on Tuesday by the club members at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja after a stakeholders meeting held on Friday at the Golf and Health Signature, Abuja.

The petitioners seek to distance themselves from a lawsuit filed by three members of the club, against the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

Wike had on April 5, appointed President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem as the Chairman Board of Trustees for the club, to replace Gen. IBM Haruna.

Other new members of the BoT appointed were Olusegun Runsewe, Grace Ihonvbere, S.l. Ameh (SAN), Hamid Abbo, Victor Adedipe, Patrick Chidolue and Ben Ikokwu.

Former members of the BoT, including IBM Haruna, Alfred Diete- Spiff, Tim Menakaya and Babagana Kingibe, were appointed as patrons of the club, while Philip Asiodu was dropped.

Wike stressed that the intervention was as a result of the FCT Administration’s commitment to restore order and efficiency to the prestigious club.

The club’s leadership crisis had sparked concerns about governance and structural reforms, with some members expressing support for the minister’s intervention.

However, the trio of Ubong Akpan, Tijani Ogueyi and Olalere Babasola, dissatisfied with the move by Wike, secured an interim court order restraining the Minister from inaugurating the new BoT members.

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on April 24, ruled in favour of the trio.

The Court restrained the purported trustees appointed by Wike from presiding over the Club’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) which was scheduled for April 26.

In a bid to stabilise the situation, Wike appointed a ten-member Interim Management Committee (IMC), chaired by Peter Deshi, to oversee the club’s administration.

To avert further unrest, the Federal Government also deployed operatives of the Nigeria Police and Department of State Services (DSS) to secure the premises.

The facility remains under tight surveillance, with access restricted to essential personnel such as security officers and ground keepers.

Even IMC members are subject to identification checks before entry is granted.

Inside sources disclosed that the closure was also being utilised as a window for comprehensive renovations aimed at upgrading the club to international standards.

The overhaul which was entrusted to Julius Berger, the original designer of the course in 1991 would be jointly funded by the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Federal Ministry of Works, and the National Sports Commission. (NAN)