NFF poll: Appeals committee boss sacks Pinnick , Bye Election holds December 11th

The crisis rocking Nigerian football took a fresh dramatic turn yesterday as the Chairman of the Electoral Appeals Committee, Barrister Okey Ajunwa nullified the election of Pinnick Amaju and three others and ordered a bye election in seven days.

Ajunwa’s ruling came a day after other members of the committee gave the election a clean bill of health, going by a statement made available to the media by the NFF.

The NFF had late Wednesday night stated that the committee had upheld the election, even as it raised the alarm that the chairman of the body might come up with a minority opinion.

As predicted by the NFF, Okey Ajunwa who addressed the press in Abuja yesterday annulled the election of Amaju, his vice Seyi Akinwumi, South East board member, Felix Anyansi Agwu and North West Rabiu Inuwa.

Ajunwa directed that Amaju and Akinwumi should stop parading themselves as NFF president and vice respectively. He also threw the contest open to all those that contested the disputed August 26 election and that of Warri.

Ajunwa’s ruling read in part: “That a bye election be conducted by the Electoral Committee of NFF as presently constituted within seven days from the date of this decision to fill the positions of President of NFF, vice president, Board Member representing the South East Zone and Board member representing the North West Zone respectively. “That the bye election shall be held at Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, which is a neutral venue, to ensure fair play and fairness to all parties. That the delegates to vote at the bye election shall be the same delegates that voted in the 30th September, 2014 election held in Warri, Delta State except for the representatives of the League Management Company.”

The NFF in a swift reaction dismissed the Ajunwa ruling declaring it as rubbish. NFF’s media chief, Demola Olajire in a release stated that the executive committee of NFF  had accepted in its entirety, the decision of the NFF 2014 Electoral Appeals Committee as conveyed to the NFF General Secretary, Barr. Musa Amadu, after the committee’s meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, 3rd December, 2014.

Olajire quoted a member of the NFF board Hon Suleiman Yahaya Kwande as saying that Ajunwa’s ruling cant change anything: “It is a committee that was put in place, and the principle of committees is known all over the world. The chairman of a committee has a casting vote; when there is a tie among the members. In this case, all the other members voted to uphold the NFF 2014 Elective Congress in its entirety, and that made the chairman’s dissenting voice to be meaningless,” Kwande was quoted as saying.

This is coming as the Nigeria Football Federation Electoral Appeals Committee has ordered for fresh election into four executive positions of the NFF to take place on December 11 in Abuja.

Chairman of the committee, Barrister Okechukwu Ajunwa announced this after a three-hour ruling at a press conference held at Area 11, Abuja on Thursday after the annulment of the September 30 election held in Warri that brought in Amaju Pinnick.

Pinnick and Seyi Akinwumi were consequently directed to stop parading themselves as NFF president and vice president respectively.

After declaring the election that produced Pinnick ‘invalid’, Ajunwa said all aspirants that participated in the both disputed elections of August 26 in Abuja and September 30 in Warri will be eligible to contest in the rescheduled election.

According to him, the positions to be filled in the bye-election are President, First Vice President, board member South East and Board member North West.

The body also insisted that all cleared candidates willing to re-contest must withdraw their legal matters in court and at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in order to participate in the rescheduled election.

The other executive committee members who had their elections nullified were Vice President Seyi Akinwumi, Felix Anyansi representing South East and Rabiu Inuwa representing North West.

Upon the verdict of the committee, Anyansi and Inuwa have been disqualified from contesting the bye-election.

Goal understands the four contestants – Muazu Suleyman, Sani Fema, Shehu Dikko and Ike Igbokwe, had filed separate appeals which necessitated the annulment of the September 30 election.

(Goal.com)