From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has approved an interim management board for the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) Golf Club, tasking them with revitalising the prestigious club. Peter Deshi will lead the board, with Yomi Oyelola as secretary.
Other members include Gbengba Elegbeleye, Nanwor Mamven, Ekanem Ekwueme, Arabi Bello, Lawan Aboki, Okey Nnaedozie, Fred Otobo, and Julius Fadairo.
The appointees are to start work immediately. Wike congratulated them and urged dedication to repositioning the club. “I congratulate the appointees and urge them to work assiduously for the repositioning of the IBB Golf Club,” he said in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka.
This move follows Wike’s earlier efforts to restore order and efficiency amid the club’s internal challenges.
In April 2025, he inaugurated a Board of Trustees led by Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, President of the Court of Appeal, to support the club’s revival.
He stated, “So, for us to have a Board of Trustees that could be led by the President of the Court of Appeal, you know that we are not joking at all. We will do everything we can to give the club the necessary support. Let it come back to what it used to be.”
Justice Dongban-Mensem thanked Wike for his swift action, pledging that the board would maintain the club’s integrity and restore harmony. “I appeal to my colleagues on the board to cooperate so that we can work as a body to uphold the confidence that has been reposed in us,” she said.
Furthermore, Wike clarified that the FCT Administration owns the club, and it is not privatised.