President of the Ghana Weightlifting Federation, Jerry Shaib, has strongly criticized government interference in the affairs of the federation, urging authorities to allow the body to operate independently.
Shaib accused former Sports Minister Nii Lante Vanderpuye of orchestrating the deployment of National Security personnel to arrest two of his associates that ultimately disrupted the federation’s electoral congress on Saturday, March 8.
According to Shaib via an exclusive interview with Citi Sports, the intervention by the National Security was a blatant attempt to influence the outcome of the federation’s elections, an act he believes undermines the integrity of Ghanaian sports administration.
He stressed that sports federations should be allowed to conduct their activities without political or governmental influence, as such interferences only breed division and stifle progress within the sporting community.
Ghana Weightlifting Federation President Jerry Shaib
“Honorable NiI Lante Vanderpuye whom I met at the National Security facility…actually told me that he was the one who asked that the two boys should be arrested…President Mahama must respectfully be careful with such people, else they would have the sports fraternity embarrassed.” Jerry Shaib said.
Newly commissioned National Weight Lifting Training Center
The controversy stems from an application that was placed on the electoral process to halt the election of new officials where Jerry Shaib argued that the federation had followed all legal and procedural steps leading up to the elections, making the disruption unjustified.
