Former Heartland FC of Owerri chairman, Fan Ndubuoke, has warned embattled national President of the Sports Writers Association, Honour Sirawoo, to leave him out of the crisis rocking the body.

In a release made available to the media, Ndubuoke frowned at the cynical manner the embattled Sirawoo roped him into the controversy surrounding Mitchell Obi’s AIPS election nomination form.

Nduboke, a former two-term national SWAN Chairman, Secretary General of ASJU and Africa’s unelected representative in AIPS EXCO, stated  that Mitchell Obi was eminently qualified to run for the AIPS elective post.

The release reads in parts; “I can’t claim to know where Sirawoo was in 2003 to make reference to AIPS activities that year but our president should guard against being manipulated by fifth columnists.

“On letter I was said to have written to AIPS in 2003, the crux of the matter was not Mitchel’s qualification or suitability for the job. Mitchel’s reputation as an internationally-acclaimed sports journalist is not in doubt. I have been informed by SWAN Lagos, that Mr Mitchell Obi is not at default.

“The current SWAN card was designed and introduced by my administration with the accompanying criteria for membership qualifications as listed by Sirawoo and captured in the Constitution. If SWAN Constitution should be implemented, it should be in totality.

“Let Nigeria not be the loser in any position we take. The international embarrassment could have been avoided if we adopted a peaceful resolution. I am of the opinion that two wrongs don’t make a right and you don’t kill a fly with a sledge hammer. Even if discrepancies were detected in Mitchel’s application, there should have been internal mechanisms that would have sorted that out without bringing it to public glare. National interest should have been paramount, more so when there was no other candidate from Nigeria.