AFFAN Leadership Crisis: Members Accuse Esther Aluko of Hijacking Association

A serious controversy has erupted within the Association of Former Female Athletes of Nigeria, with some members accusing the acting president, Mrs. Esther Aluko, of attempting to seize control of the organization. In a petition submitted to the Corporate Affairs Commission on July 27, 2026, and signed by Rahinatu Garba, a retired Air Commodore, the aggrieved members alleged that Mrs. Aluko had altered the association's documents in an effort to claim sole ownership. According to the petition, Mrs. Aluko conspired with certain insiders to tamper with the documents registering AFFAN with the Corporate Affairs Commission. Mrs. Garba further alleged that Mrs. Aluko not only claims ownership of AFFAN but also amended the organization's constitution without following due process, thereby enabling her to illegally replace some trustees. The petition stated that there was an unlawful amendment of the AFFAN constitution, contrary to the provisions of Section 12 of the AFFAN constitution and Section 16.1 of the current AFFAN constitution. It emphasized that AFFAN is an Incorporated Trustee owned by its members and governed by the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020, and thus, it is not owned by any individual. The petitioners argued that no single co-founder has the right to claim ownership of AFFAN and that the claims made by Mrs. Aluko are false and unlawful under the CAMA 2020. The petitioners also pointed out that the leadership of AFFAN, including Esther Aluko, has been in an acting capacity since its inauguration and questioned how someone in an acting capacity could assume powers to tamper with the constitution, appoint and/or direct state coordinators to hand over to her trusted accomplices, and dictate what happens on the association's platform. When contacted for her reaction to the allegations, Mrs. Aluko denied any wrongdoing, stating that the petition and allegations were not in the interest of the association. She explained that the association had resolved that its leadership must consist of former athletes who represented Nigeria at international sporting events, not practicing athletes who are still active. Mrs. Aluko narrated her side of the story, saying that the vision behind the Association of Former Female Athletes of Nigeria was conceived in 2017 through her efforts as Dr. (Mrs.) Esther Oluwatoyin Aluko. As an accomplished former international athlete, coach, and sports administrator with over four decades of distinguished service to Nigerian sports, she recognized the significant gap in Nigeria's sports development structure. She observed that many retired female athletes, who had sacrificed their youthful years representing Nigeria with honors and distinctions, were often left without opportunities to continue contributing to sports development after retirement. Driven by this conviction, she envisioned an organization that would preserve the legacy of Nigeria's former female athletes while providing them with a platform to continue contributing meaningfully to sports administration, governance, mentoring, advocacy, and youth development. Thus, the vision of the Association of Former Female Athletes of Nigeria (AFFAN) was born.