In a stark demonstration of institutional impunity, the National Sports Commission (NSC) in Nigeria has appointed Rita Mosindi as Acting Secretary General of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF).

The redeployment comes despite two independent investigative panels recommending her sanction and removal over gross administrative failures and financial irregularities.

Mosindi was a central figure in the Paris 2024 Olympic disaster, where star sprinter Favour Ofili was omitted from the women’s 100m event. A Ministerial Investigative Committee found Mosindi negligent, noting she failed to prove she had submitted Ofili’s vital entry documents to the Ministry of Sports Development or the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC).

 The panel sharply criticized her reliance on WhatsApp as her sole method of official communication and recommended she be penalized by the appropriate authority.

Her administrative failures extend beyond the Olympic debacle:

• 2023 AFN Audit Probe: An Athletics Federation of Nigeria audit panel raised serious red flags over Mosindi's management of federation finances and recommended her removal. Unable to fire her due to jurisdictional limits, the AFN board issued her a severe reprimand.

Paris 2024 Panel Findings: The ministerial probe cited her failure to maintain formal documentation standards, leaving Nigeria's top athletic talent stranded on the world stage.

Rather than enforcing accountability, the NSC integrated Mosindi into a nationwide reshuffle of General Secretaries across sports federations. NSC Director General Bukola Olopade defended the move in Abuja, framing the redeployments as an endorsement of capability rather than disciplinary action. 

 "Let me be clear that no secretary is being removed because he or she has been sacked... This is how much the Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko, and I believe in all our secretaries and their professional expertise," Olopade stated.

By brushing aside damning investigative findings and praising an indicted official's "expertise," the NSC leadership raises serious questions about whether merit or accountability play any role in the administration of Nigerian sports.

Asio is watching...