Ibrahim Babayo, the Captain of the IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja has called for strict adherence to the rule of law by all stakeholders in the ongoing dispute at the club.
Located in Abuja, the FCT, the IBB Golf Club, with its 101-hectare golf course, 25 bridges, and stunning views of Aso Rock, is a prominent recreational and tourist attraction, indeed, a beloved destination for golf enthusiasts and nature lovers alike.
Babayo said the club had been independent of government subversion since 2004 and was issued with a C of O in 2011.
He noted that all statutory payments were up-to-date by the club, and operated just like most golf clubs in Nigeria, which were built by public funds and handed over to members of the various clubs across the country at different times.
He, however, said that in an unfortunate turn of events on Saturday, March 15, security operatives sealed the club, following an internal leadership dispute that rocked the facility.
The closure on Saturday was reportedly aimed at disrupting an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), which was scheduled for the same day.
The bone of contention is the attempt by members to fill the vacant positions on the Board of Trustees (BOT), Babayo explained, adding that the current situation where only two octogenarians constitute the BOT has led to poor or complete lack of corporate governance, stagnation of the club’s development and recent loss of funds.
For a long time, the outgone BOT was unable to form a quorum to make major decisions for the club, Babayo lamented, noting that at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2014, a committee was set up to review the constitution of the club.
“This was successfully done in 2014, but implementation and registration of the new constitution was stalled by the chairman of the BOT for 10 years until December 2024 when it was finally registered.
“This was simply because of a clause concerning tenure and age limits, which automatically disqualified him from being a BOT member.
“This is the main bone of contention,” he said.
He further explained that at the last AGM in 2024, a BOT Selection Committee was appointed by members and given terms of reference to fill the vacancies in the BOT.
He said the committee had finished its work and was at the point of presenting its report for the proper conduct of an election on Saturday, before the club was shut down by security agencies, subsequently preventing the scheduled EGM from holding.
He urged all aggrieved parties to follow the due process and the constitution of the club and be guided by the rule of law as well as a proper corporate governance structure, pointing out that there is practically no way anybody could appropriate any section of the IBB Golf Club as it is the sole property of the club and a national asset as well.
He quoted the constitution as stating clearly in Section 32.2 that, “No member of the BOT or Executive Committee of the club shall have a proprietary or personal interest in any property of the club.”
Disclosing that the security operatives have since vacated the club’s premises, Babayo said the Club’s management is currently conducting stakeholders’ engagement, assuring that all pending issues would soon be resolved.
“We are a family and intend to unify our club, and we will by the grace of God succeed in becoming one great family again,
“Our aim is to make Abuja the number one golf tourism destination in Africa, and we intend to do so,” he was quoted by the News Agency of Nigeria as saying.
