Dan NgeremOne of the Patrons of the Lagos State chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Mr. Dan Ngerem has expressed support to the Association in the ongoing process of returning sanity to the once vibrant body.
In a message to the Caretaker Committee Chairman, Mr. Ngerem who is also a former President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, said he is not unaware of the crisis that engulfed Lagos SWAN, describing it as “contrived”.
He pledged his total support to the association’s rebuilding efforts, stressing that he would not standby and watch an institution he was part of building reduced to an empty shell.
”I am fully aware of the crisis engulfing the Lagos State chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN). What we are witnessing is not an organic disagreement – it is a contrived, orchestrated crisis. A deliberate attempt by invisible hands to destabilize and capture the Association for self-serving ends”, he said.
Continuing he said, “You have my full support. One hundred percent.
Some of us worked very hard in the trenches to restructure and reposition SWAN. I will not stand by and watch an institution we fought for be reduced to an empty shell – invisible, irrelevant, and captured”.
Inasmuch as he supports the ongoing sanitization of the Association, he stressed that “But let me state my caveat without ambiguity: I will not work with just anyone. Whoever we work with must be above board, not beholden to the powers that be, not for sale, and must be fully committed to credible, international standards. No compromise on that”.
He expressed hope that Lagos SWAN would return as the watch dog of the sporting society.
