By Iliya Kure
Four Nigerians have won elections into Executive Council and various Commissions of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). The election was conducted in Houston, Texas at the ITTF Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Those elected are;
- Wahid Enitan Oshodi – Executive Vice President (Deputy President) of the ITTF
- Anderson Bankole – Para-Table Tennis Commission Member
- Ishaku Tikon – Veterans Commission Member, and
- Banji Oladapo – Board of Directors Member
Mr. Oshodi polled 116 from the 136 ballots cast, representing 85.29% of the total votes to emerge winner among 14 candidates that vied for position of the Deputy President.
Oshodi becomes the second Nigerian to be elected to the world body after Segun George, and will serve along with seven other Executive Vice Presidents elected at the Houston AGM.
The 226-member ITTF with headquarters in Switzerland, is the governing body for all national table tennis associations.
Founded in 1926, its role includes overseeing rules and regulations and seeking technological improvement for the sport of table tennis.
Reacting to the elections, Nigeria’s Sports Minister, Sunday Dare described the feat as remarkable and a huge blessing to his country, “with the pedigree of the persons in the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) and now the ITTF, the sports (Table Tennis) is set for an unprecedented upward swing.”
Also reacting, Permanent Secretary in the country’s Sports Ministry, Ismail Abubakar said the victory of the quartet at the ITTF congress in Houston, Texas is in line with the Ministry’s objective of getting as many qualified Nigerians as possible into leadership positions in their different International Sports Federations.