Boxing referee and judge, Roger Barnor, has officially assumed leadership of the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA), following the dramatic resignation of its embattled President, Abraham Kotei Neequaye.

Mr Barnor, who was the elected Second Vice-President of the GBA, stepped into the top job as acting president last Monday at a brief handover ceremony held at the GBA office inside the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra. 

His ascension comes at a critical time for Ghana boxing, with the sport rocked by controversy, political tension and administrative uncertainty. 

Mr Neequaye, who cited “personal reasons” for stepping down, said he was shifting focus to his new appointment on the governing board of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP). But his farewell was anything but quiet.

With the earlier resignation of GBA First Vice-President, Rabon Dodoo, last year, Mr Barnor, who was elected Second Vice-President of the GBA at the entity last elections now takes the reins as acting president at a critical juncture for the sport’s governing body. 

In a fiery press conference, the outgoing GBA chief launched scathing attacks on the Minister of Sports and Recreation, Kofi Iddie Adams, and National Sports Authority Director-General, Yaw Ampofo Ankrah.

He accused the minister of orchestrating a witch-hunt and meddling in the affairs of the autonomous boxing body, following the minister’s decision to set up a seven-member committee of inquiry into the death of Nigerian boxer, Olusegun Olanrewaju, who tragically collapsed during a bout in Accra on March 29.

The inquiry report, which recommended that the GBA executive be sidelined ahead of its scheduled July 16 elective congress, proved to be the last straw.

The NSA subsequently issued a directive on June 4, calling for the postponement of the GBA’s congress, an order Mr Neequaye flatly rejected.

Although he said his resignation was in deference to President John Dramani Mahama and the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Neequaye was adamant that he would not back down from defending the integrity of the sport.

"The minister told me plainly that he cannot work with me, but I want to warn him and the NSA boss that GBA is an autonomous body. We are not under them, they don't give us any support so they should leave politics out of boxing." 

Impactful tenure

He pointed to a string of accomplishments during his tenure, including the successful rollout of the Ghana Professional Boxing League, which staged over 54 events, awarded substantial cash prizes and cars to top performing boxers and gyms, refurbishment of the GBA’s offices and the introduction of newly designed national title belts, among key milestones under his reign.