Nigeria Premier Football League giants Enyimba FC have appointed former Super Eagles defender and 1996 Olympic gold medalist Uche Okechukwu as the club’s new Sporting Director, handing a key leadership position to one of Nigerian football’s most respected figures.

The Aba-based club confirmed the appointment on Saturday in a letter signed by chairman Nwankwo Kanu, who was Okechukwu’s teammate during Nigeria’s historic Olympic triumph in Atlanta.

Okechukwu, widely known as “the Gentle Giant,” replaces Ifeanyi Ekwueme who resigned following recruitment and management issues that contributed to the team’s underwhelming results this season.

The 57-year-old brings exceptional international experience to the role, having earned 47 caps for Nigeria across a distinguished career that spanned two FIFA World Cups, two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, and the memorable 1996 Olympic Games where Nigeria claimed gold.

At club level, Okechukwu enjoyed remarkable success during 13 years in Turkey, becoming the country’s longest-serving foreign player and eventually obtaining Turkish citizenship under the name Deniz Uygar.

His journey began with Flash Flamingoes and Iwuanyanwu Nationale in Nigeria, where he won consecutive league titles in 1988 and 1989, before moving to Danish club Brondby IF in 1990.

At Brondby, Okechukwu established himself as a defensive cornerstone, winning back-to-back Danish championships in 1990 and 1991 while helping the team reach the UEFA Cup semi-finals. His outstanding performances earned him Brondby’s Player of the Year award in 1992.

Fenerbahce secured his services in November 1993 for a substantial DKK8 million transfer fee, where he formed a formidable defensive partnership with former Brondby teammate Jes Hogh and helped deliver the club’s first Süper Lig title in seven years.

During nearly 250 official appearances for Fenerbahce across eight seasons, Okechukwu won another league championship in the 2000-01 campaign before moving to Istanbulspor and eventually returning to Nigeria with Ocean Boys and Bayelsa United.

At international level, Okechukwu was instrumental in Nigeria’s golden generation. He featured in the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations triumph over Zambia and was one of three overage players selected for the Atlanta Olympics squad alongside Daniel Amokachi and Emmanuel Amuneke.

The defender started all six matches during the 1996 Olympic tournament, providing crucial stability as Nigeria became the first African nation to win Olympic football gold, defeating Argentina 3-2 in the final under Kanu’s captaincy.

Okechukwu represented Nigeria at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, appearing in seven complete matches and helping the Super Eagles reach consecutive Round of 16 stages. He retired from international duty following the 1998 tournament’s defeat to Denmark, having served as captain on multiple occasions from 1996 onwards.

Enyimba’s management and supporters are hopeful that Okechukwu’s extensive experience and leadership qualities will drive a new era of success for the People’s Elephant, who last won the CAF Champions League in 2004 and claimed the NPFL title in 2023.

The appointment reunites Okechukwu with Kanu, who transitioned from playing legend to administrative leader when he was named Enyimba chairman in 2023 following his retirement and subsequent philanthropic work.

With the club currently facing challenges in maintaining its traditional dominance in Nigerian football, Okechukwu’s arrival signals ambitious intentions to rebuild competitive structures and restore Enyimba’s status as the country’s premier football institution.

The African Democratic Congress has accused the National Assembly of deliberately frustrating critical electoral reforms by delaying passage of the Electoral Bill 2025, warning that continued inaction threatens the credibility of the 2027 general elections.

In a statement released on Saturday by National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi, the party specifically targeted the APC-led Senate for stalling the legislation and warned against weakening or diluting key provisions including electronic voter accreditation and results transmission.

The ADC’s accusation comes as civil society organizations and election observers express mounting alarm over the Senate’s failure to conclude action on a bill already passed by the House of Representatives at third reading on December 23, 2025.

According to Abdullahi, the deliberate delay appears designed to prevent the implementation of reforms that could level the electoral playing field and reduce opportunities for manipulation that characterized the 2023 general elections.

“We are calling on the National Assembly to urgently pass the Electoral Bill 2025. Continued delays could undermine critical electoral reforms and threaten the credibility of the 2027 elections,” the ADC spokesman stated.

The Senate inaugurated a seven-member ad hoc committee on Thursday to review, harmonize and streamline senators’ contributions to the proposed amendments, following a three-hour closed-door executive session examining the Electoral Act Repeal and Re-Enactment Bill.

However, the ADC and civil society groups argue that further committee work at this stage represents another delaying tactic when time-sensitive reforms require immediate legislative action.

The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has joined ADC in condemning the delay, expressing grave concern that the Senate’s continued inaction undermines Nigeria’s electoral reform process and threatens timely preparations for the 2027 polls.

Situation Room noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission is legally required to issue the Notice of Election in February 2026, meaning any further slippage in passing the Electoral Bill could place the entire election cycle at risk.

The civil society coalition stressed that electoral reform is not routine legislation but a time-sensitive national obligation that requires urgent completion to allow INEC sufficient time to plan, implement and sensitize stakeholders under a revised legal framework.

The organization criticized the extended National Assembly recess extending into 2026 as inexcusable, noting that established democracies including the United Kingdom, United States, Kenya and South Africa maintain structured calendars allowing priority legislation to proceed even during recess periods.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar recently alleged that loopholes in the Electoral Act 2022 undermined the credibility of the 2023 general elections, stating that the law’s gaps enabled widespread rigging and made it extremely difficult for petitioners to win cases in court.

INEC had forwarded 142 post-election recommendations to the National Assembly in May 2025, with eight requiring constitutional or Electoral Act amendments, but lawmakers have shown limited urgency in addressing these technical concerns raised by the electoral umpire.

The Electoral Bill seeks to address critical deficiencies observed in recent elections, including clearer legal backing for electronic transmission of results, provisions for early voting, and tougher sanctions for electoral offenses.

Under current timelines, if the Senate fails to conclude action on the bill within the coming weeks, the proposed reforms will automatically lapse, meaning Nigeria would head into another election cycle under the same 2022 Electoral Act whose gaps and ambiguities were exposed during the 2023 polls.

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre has also called on the National Assembly to fast-track critical legislative reforms, particularly electoral-related bills, emphasizing that electoral reform remains a core demand of Nigerian citizens following lessons from the 2023 general elections.

ADC warned that the APC government appears more focused on retaining power than implementing reforms that ensure free and fair elections, noting that even under the current timetable, incumbent structures at state and federal levels are already campaigning.

The party urged lawmakers to demonstrate leadership, foresight and patriotism by prioritizing electoral reforms that reflect the aspirations of Nigerians rather than partisan political calculations aimed at maintaining advantages for the ruling party.

Civil society organizations have vowed to intensify public pressure on the Senate to prioritize the Electoral Bill immediately upon resumption from recess, with plans for advocacy campaigns demanding accountability from lawmakers who continue to delay electoral reform legislation.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has appealed to the Federal Government to restrain the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control from proceeding with its ban on alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and small PET bottles, warning of catastrophic economic consequences.

In a statement issued by Director-General Segun Ajayi-Kadir, MAN described NAFDAC’s renewed enforcement action as detrimental to indigenous industrial operators and fundamentally inconsistent with earlier government directives.

The manufacturers’ body emphasized that NAFDAC’s recent move directly contradicts the House of Representatives resolution dated March 14, 2024, which specifically restrained the agency from implementing the punitive ban following comprehensive stakeholder consultations through a public hearing.

“Rather than abiding by the generally agreed resolution, NAFDAC bided its time and chose to rely on a resolution of the Senate that was devoid of the usual stakeholders’ engagement,” Ajayi-Kadir stated, noting that operators now face confusion over conflicting directives from different arms of government.

MAN warned that enforcing the ban would devastate Nigeria’s manufacturing sector, threatening over ₦1.9 trillion in existing investments and triggering the retrenchment of more than 500,000 direct employees alongside approximately five million workers in the indirect value chain.

The association cautioned that the restriction would paradoxically undermine public health by creating market opportunities for illicit, substandard and unregulated products beyond the control of regulatory authorities.

“This is counterproductive as it will open up the market for illicit, sub-standard, and unregulated products. It will lead to an influx of imported alternatives, mostly smuggled. It will deny the government of revenues collectable from the companies,” Ajayi-Kadir declared.

The manufacturers’ group emphasized that alcohol served in sachets by local producers is manufactured under hygienic conditions and certified by regulatory agencies including NAFDAC itself, making the ban particularly contradictory.

MAN also challenged the untested assertion that sachet alcohol drives underage consumption, citing credible and empirical research that contradicts this claim. The industry has independently invested over ₦1 billion in nationwide media campaigns promoting responsible alcohol consumption and discouraging underage abuse.

The association stressed that banning certified products would deny adult consumers with limited budgets access to regulated alcoholic beverages while simultaneously depriving the government of substantial tax revenues.

Food, Beverages and Tobacco Senior Staff Association and National Union of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employees have joined MAN in opposing the ban, demanding that NAFDAC provide empirical evidence that sachet alcoholic beverages are being consumed by children.

Labor unions have called for the suspension of NAFDAC Director-General Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, accusing her of siding with multinational companies to undermine local manufacturers.

However, NAFDAC has maintained its position, with Adeyeye insisting that enforcement is backed by law following the Senate’s unanimous resolution setting a December 2025 deadline that has now passed.

The NAFDAC chief argued that the proliferation of high-alcohol-content beverages in sachets has made such products easily accessible, affordable and concealable, contributing to widespread misuse and addiction among minors and commercial drivers.

“This public health menace has been linked to increased incidences of domestic violence, road accidents, school dropouts, and social vices across communities,” Adeyeye stated, describing the ban as protective rather than punitive.

In contrast, civil society organization Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has approached the Federal High Court in Lagos seeking injunctive orders to prevent the Federal Government from interfering with NAFDAC’s statutory powers to enforce the ban.

SERAP argues that continued circulation of sachet alcohol violates the National Health Act 2014, the NAFDAC Act and international commitments under the World Health Organization’s Global Strategy to Reduce Harmful Use of Alcohol.

The legal and economic battle over sachet alcohol highlights deeper tensions between public health regulation, economic survival and stakeholder consultation in Nigeria’s policymaking process, with no clear resolution in sight as multiple court cases and regulatory actions unfold simultaneously.