Cricket

The National President of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr Honour Sirawoo has come out to state that the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ) did not serve the Sports Writers body any letter or petition as been circulated on social media through some media.

Honour disclosed this exclusively to www.simag.com.ng when he was contacted to comment on several publications gaining preference on the internet in which the NUJ purportedly wrote a letter titled “RE: PLANNED ILLEGAL AMENDMENT OF SWAN STATUTES” as reported by www.theajasanews.com. 

“I have not received any correspondence of such from NUJ" the SWAN boss started. I have only seen the stories online just like you saw it too”. “SWAN is open to welcome suggestions or ideas that will make the association develop, and if NUJ does such, we will welcome it and see if its okay for the association". he said.

When asked if SWAN will still go ahead with all her planned activities despite reading the heavy criticism from NUJ as contained in the story published by www.theajasanews.com with the caption “NUJ Warns Sirawoo not to stay beyond his tenure”, Sirawoo said

"We will look at what the SWAN Statutes Amendment Committee have for us when we meet at the Congress on Monday, and make a decision which will be in the best interest of the Association". "NUJ can advise us but the onus now lies on us to make a final decision.

"We inaugurated a committee in 2017 at the Bauchi Congress to look into the amendment of SWAN Statutes, the committee reported to us in May 2018 at the Port Harcourt congress where they gave us a brief." "The committee went round in the past two years to get input from states and other stakeholders and I believe it will be in the best interest of the association".

"When an adhoc committee works for two years I think its long enough and also proper we look into what they have done and take a final decision so that they too can go and rest", he concluded.

Sirawoo who is optimistic that SWAN is on the right direction, also used this opportunity to wish the Super Eagles of Nigeria well ahead of their crucial clash with Cameroon on Saturday, in the round of 16 at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations tagged Egypt 2019.

SWAN holds her special delegate congress on Monday July 8 in Nigeria's capital City Abuja, where the amended statutes will be looked into, amongs other issues affecting the development of SWAN.