IOC backs B.T. Baba… Go back to post, hold fresh elections in 6 months

From the distant country of Switzerland, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge, has sent a four-paged recommendation to Ghana's President JEA Mills, the Sports Minister, Hon. Rashid Pelpuo and Mr. B.T. Baba to resolve the current GOC impasse.

The recommendation was necessitated after the Ghana Olympic Committee, Olympic Movement, IOC-ASOIF-ANOCA joint visit to Ghana early this months to find lasting solution to the impasse.

And by the recommendation, the IOC has suggested that until the NOC elective General Assembly can be held in compliance with the IOC principles, the IOC and ANOCA will continue to recognize the outgoing NOC President, Mr. Baba, and the outgoing Executive Committee which would be responsible for the implementation of the NOC electoral process.

“The outgoing Executive Committee under Mr. Baba's leadership shall be given the means to continue working normally during this period. In particular, the NOC office and facilities shall be returned to them,” the letter stated.

The letter added that if the national sports organization wish to continue to be part of the Olympic Movement at the international level, then recommendation such as “…no representative of an National Sports Federations (NF) not recognized as such by its International Sports Federatio (IF) will be invited to take part in the work of the NOC General Assembly,” should be held in high esteem.

The IOC also recommended that: “The NOC shall hold it elective General Assembly within six months at the latest, which will include, in particular, leaders of the IFs duly recognized by the IFs at the time the NOC General Assembly is held.”

“We believe that the current situation is a unique opportunity to review the entire framework of sports structures in Ghana, by moving to a system of fair, democratic and transparent elections at all levels of the sports organization in Ghana, in accordance with the applicable and respective rules of the international sports Federations, to which the national sports federation are affiliated,” it stated.