The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NFF poll

  • SSS arrests NFF electoral committee chairman

    SSS arrests NFF electoral committee chairman

    The much-anticipated elections to usher in a new board into the Nigeria Football Federation may not hold on Tuesday again, africanFootball.com reports.

    The website gathered that the chairman of the NFF Electoral Committee, Barr. Samson Ebomhe, who is saddled with the responsibility of conducting an acceptable election in Warri, has been whisked away from his hotel room by the men of State Security Services.

    He is yet to be released at the time of filling this report, africanFootball.com says.

    The polls are yet to begin in Warri.

    The electoral committee on Monday announced that no withdrawals by candidates will be entertained and that all seven presidential candidates have been cleared for the polls.

    FIFA had already warned that Nigeria risks an international ban should the electoral process be hindered.

  • NFF electoral system is flawed – Odegbami

    NFF electoral system is flawed – Odegbami

    Ex-Nigeria international, Segun Odegbami , has lamented the sorry state the Nigeria Football Federation has found itself in the past weeks, culminating in the world football governing body threatening to ban the country.

    He said the predicament rocking the football house was as a result of administrative incompetence of some officials at the helm of affairs.

    The former wing wizard also predicted more dangers ahead if the problems are not identified and fixed.

    “It is a disaster that happens every four years and unless we do something about it, there will be a repeat of this disaster in the next four years,” Odegbami told Goal.

    “There is something wrong and we have to identify and fix it. The electoral process is very faulty no wonder we are not progressing administratively because our football is growing steadily.”

    He narrated his ordeal while trying to purchase a form for the NFF election only to be disqualified.

    “I registered my intention to be part of the process, to contest for a position in the executive committee of the NFF.

    “I didn’t pick up a form to contest for the presidency, all I wanted to do is to find space within the executive committee and I did that because I realised that if you don’t buy a ticket, you will never win a lottery.

    “I purchased the ticket to examine the system and find out what it is and immediately I was disqualified, though, the decision was reversed. And after that, there have been all manners of confusion and crises.

    “We don’t know who to blame, we don’t know what the issues are and not to talk about the solution. It is all about confusion, “he stated.

    The former Green Eagles captain, however, did not rule out himself completely from heading the Nigeria football house in years to come.

    “If the issues are resolved, if the structure, guidelines and statutes are clear and done well to reflect progress, why won’t I put in my own bid to be a part of football in this country?

    “I have paid my dues. I am a sports ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and former captain of the senior national team.

    “My business is football. I own a sports school and I write football. So I can’t go anywhere else. If there is a level playing ground and the rules are clear and transparent, then by all means I will love to be a part of the leadership of football in the country,” he concluded.

    The NFF elections are expected to hold on September 30.

  • Abba Yola faults minister’s insistence on NFF poll

    Abba Yola faults minister’s insistence on NFF poll

    Former Kano Pillars chairman, Abba Yola, has questioned the desperation of the country’s sports minister to support a “faulty” process leading to elections to the executive committee of the Nigeria Football Federation.

    Both FIFA and NFF have agreed for elections to the NFF executive committee be moved from August 26, but Sports Minister Tamuno Danagogo has insisted the poll must be conducted on that day.

    Yola was one of the major stakeholders stopped from buying a form for the elections, saying “for the past one month I have tried to pick the presidential form but could not do so. And nobody has given me any reason as to why I cannot get the form.”

    In an open letter dated August 23 to the sports minister, Yola contested the fairness of the electoral process, while also narrating his personal encounters with the chairman of the electoral committee, Amoni Biambo, which further questioned the integrity of the entire process.

    Yola, who has been in sports administration for over 30 years, argued the minister has maintained double standards on the NFF electoral process.

    “Your turn around and support the electoral committee to go ahead with the elections as earlier scheduled despite what you told Nigerians about the entire exercise has left many of us in doubt over the integrity of the process.

    “The SGF (Secretary to the Federal Government, Pius Anyim) directive that only those that have written formal complaints should be sold forms to fill and submit on Monday for the elections is inequitable especially coming after the FACT.

    “This directive smacks of a desperate attempt to legitimize a faulty process. Hon. Minister I would like to appeal to you as a lawyer to appreciate the grave impropriety of the SGF’s directives which in the event of litigation will not stand the test of judicial scrutiny.

    “Any decision taken by a public officer must always avoid causing unnecessary embarrassment to the government,” africanFootball.com quoted Yola as saying in the letter.

    He therefore demanded a reversal of the decision for elections to still go ahead on Tuesday.

     

  • Maigari returns, demands free and fair NFF poll

    Maigari returns, demands free and fair NFF poll

    The president of the Nigeria Football Federation, Aminu Maigari, has said on his return to office that he wants a smooth conduct of elections into the federation’s executive committee.

    Maigari resumed office on Monday after a purported impeachment was thrown out by FIFA, africanFootball.com reports.

    “I personally will want any individual who is eligible to contest (the elections),” Maigari declared.

    The electoral process has been seriously questioned after some officials disappeared with nomination forms in a desperate bid to stop interested persons from vying for the elections.

    Sports minister Tammy Danagogo has also expressed serious concerns about the process.

    Elections are due on August 26 in Warri.

    Meanwhile, Maigari has called on all stakeholders to unite for the good of Nigerian football.

    “There is no victor and no vanquished. We must all come together in the interest of the Nigeria game. We are all adults and we must have differences, but I am happy that those differences are now in the past and we are now of the same accord,” Maigari said as he settled into his chair on Monday.

    He met Mike Umeh, Shehu Adamu and Ayodeji Tinubu, some of his board members in the office, and after hours of deliberation, chairman of the NFF media and publicity committee, Emeka Inyama, disclosed that the board had come together once more and that the interest of Nigerian football had prevailed.

    “We are one big family, as we have always been. There were disagreements and misunderstanding for a number of weeks, but FIFA has cleared the air and the government has weighed in on the side of FIFA,” Inyama said.

    “In the interest of the Nigeria game, we have all resolved to bury our differences and rather work towards evolving a roadmap for the coming elections.

    There will be a meeting of the executive committee on Tuesday.