The ugly and contentious issues in 2010 NFF elections

Before now, the Dr. Momodu Kadiri led committee had canvassed that State Football Associations elections should precede that of the NFF Executive Committee. He was at the recent meeting held between the National Sports Commission and State Commissioners of supports to seek support for his committee’s position. Although the commissioners saw reason with him and […]

Before now, the Dr. Momodu Kadiri led committee had canvassed that State Football Associations elections should precede that of the NFF Executive Committee. He was at the recent meeting held between the National Sports Commission and State Commissioners of supports to seek support for his committee’s position.

Although the commissioners saw reason with him and called on relevant stakeholders to heed the counsel of the presidential committee, the acting leadership of NFF under the leadership of one of the candidates, Alhaji Aminu Maigari and the 2010 NFF electoral committee insisted on going ahead with the elections as scheduled.

The decision to go ahead with the elections has not gone down well with some of the candidates. Although many have shied away from coming out in the public to call for shift in the August 21 election date, Chief Segun Odegbami and Chief Oyuiki Obaseki all from the South have taken the bull by the horns.

The two contestants are unanimous in their position that allowing the present executives of the state Football Associations to vote in the forth coming elections will be tantamount to endorsing illegality or courting unnecessary trouble.

 Their argument stems from the fact that even as the tenures of all the state FA chairmen have since expired, the sacked leadership of NFF had manipulated the congress and amended the statues to make way for them to stay on until after the elections into the NFF board and such illegality should not be condoned.

As things stand, this contentious issue is threatening to scuttle the whole process because the NFF electoral committee is going ahead with the election but some of the contestants are already warming up for legal battles at the end of the exercise.

Although they have not come out to say they would challenge the credibility of the election, if the “expired state FA chairmen” are allowed to vote, it can be decoded from the body language of Odegbami and Obaseki that they would support whole heartedly whoever would either obtain court injunction to stop the election or challenge the legality of the board to be constituted.

In recent interview, Odegbami said: ““Allowing these state chairmen to vote is the height of illegality. Their tenures have run out and they should hold their elections before the NFF election.

“If any aggrieved party takes the matter to court you will be shocked that the whole exercise of the election will be a nullity,”

Toeing the same path with Odegbami, former chairman of the Nigeria Premier League Oyuiki Obaseki, who is also in the running for NFF president, described it as a mistake.

“The normal thing is to have the state FA election first but we all made the mistake in Makurdi when the congress ratified the election time table and was silent on the state FA election. I think the executive committee of the FA can still do something.”

What is glaring from the position of the two contestants is that they may go ahead and participate in the elections but would not hesitate to take side with any football stakeholder who might decide to challenge the exercise in the court of law.

Odegbami hinted on this in his recent write up titled “who are the voters at the 2010 NFF election?” He is still of the strong view that the present FA chairmen whose tenures have expired should not be allowed to vote. For him, the most rational thing to do in order to provide a level playing ground is to conduct fresh state FA elections for uncompromised delegates to emerge.

In addition to the issue of eligibility of the present State FA Chairmen is the question of zoning which unknown to many people is very much a factor in administration of Nigerian sports. According to the amended contentious Decree 101which is pending the approval of the relevant legislative bodies, the leadership of the Nigerian Football Federation and the Nigerian Premier League is to be shared between south and north.

What this means is that if a northerner occupies the office of president of Nigeria Football Federation, the chairman of Nigeria Premier League automatically must come from the South. Thus, a look at the list of candidates cleared for the position of vice-president of NFF lends credence to this as all four candidates are from the South.

As simple as this electoral arithmetic may appear, it is generating serious controversy as some of the candidates, especially those from the north have questioned in whispers, the morality in the decision of the presidential candidates of Southern extraction to vie with them for the plum NFF job.

Recently, a football group known as Abuja Football Vanguard in a press release hammered on the issue of zoning which it also referred to as federal character and questioned vehemently the decision of Odegbami, Obaseki, Ndubuoke and Olapade to contest for NFF presidency.

According to the group, since the NPL chairman Mr. Davidson Owunmi is from the South, the position of NFF president should go to the north where credible candidates can be found in Shehu Dikko, Tijani Yusuf, Sani Toro, Lumumba Adeh, and Aminu Magiari.

The release reads in part: “Even the most gullible Nigerian knows that since the present NPL chairman, Mr. Davidson Owunmi is from the south, the NFF presidency should automatically come to the north.

“As a group that believes in calling a spade a spade, we are calling on our brothers from the south to imbibe the spirit of fair play and withdraw their aspirations”.

However, social critic and former Gombe State FA Chairman, Alhaji Shaiubu Gara-Gombe has since faulted such calls which he described as nonsensical. He told Trustsports that such calculations should have no place in Nigerian football administration as according to him it is meant to benefit those who have cupboard love for football.

He said it does not matter even if the president of NFF and the chairman of NPL are from the south or north as the most important thing is having competent hands in office for the good of the game.

“I cannot support such selfish calls. Anybody who wants zoning in Nigerian football is not serious. It is retrogressive way of thinking and nobody should support it. If the president of NFF and chairman of NPL are all from the south and our football is rescued, where is the problem?” he asked.

Gara-Gombe’s position has not eroded the clamour for a northerner to be elected NFF president. As the countdown to the August 21 NFF election continues, these contentious issues will feature prominently and if not properly addressed, ongoing efforts to re-structure Nigerian football beginning with constitution of a credible NFF board would be effort in futility.