Former Nigerian international athlete, Henry Amike last weekend emerged president of the Nigeria Association of Athletics Technical Officials NAATO and he has promised to give the organization a new face.

Amike who holds the national 400m hurdles record for 26 years running, polled 49 votes to edge out Funmi Nutai with 38 votes to become NAATO president, during the NAATO congress held at the Abuja National Stadium.

“My first priority will be to give NAATO a new face. Things will be different from how they use to be.

We will build a new relationship with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria to forge a harmonious relationship,” said Amike.

He added that he will also pursue an aggressive policy that will see many Nigerians become certified international track judges.

“At the last African Youth Athletics Championships in Warri, we didn’t have a single Nigerian on the list of qualified international track judges. We will see to it that we have more Nigerians as international technical officials,” he asserted.

Amike who is also the president of Nigeria Olympians Association was one of Africa’s best hurdlers during his days.

He was in the final of the 1984 Olympics and ran the 4x400m at the Seoul 88 Games. He was sixth at the 1987 World Championships in Rome where he ran his personal best of 47.50 seconds which remains the National record.