By Mark Baber
December 5 – The day after members of the Nigerian Football Federation Electoral Appeals Committee (NFF) broke ranks with their own chairmen to issue “decisions” purportedly upholding the legitimacy of the disputed September 30 elections which produced the current Amaju Pinnick-led (pictured) executive, the committee chairman, Okechukwu Ajunwa, has ruled that those same elections are nullified and Amaju Pinnick should cease to parade himself as NFF president.
Barrister Ajunwa spoke to journalists in Abuja on Thursday saying the committee members who purported to uphold the elections were ignorant of the law.
“None of them is a lawyer, I am the lawyer and I know the law, I have gathered the results of the committee and I will read them out in accordance to FIFA and CAF rules,” he said.
Ajunwa declared: “The Election of Amaju Pinnick is hereby nullified and he has been banned from parading himself as the President of the Nigeria Football Federation.”
Ajunwa said the decision was based on the fact the Electoral Committee for the election was illegally composed and that no FIFA observer was on ground during the elections. He also said the election was marred by violence and abuse, questioned why the election was held in Pinnick’s home state and said one of the contestants for the office, Shehu Dikko, was wrongly disqualified on the election day.
Accordingly Ajunwa, on behalf of the Electoral Appeals Committee, has ordered fresh elections for the positions of President, First Vice President, Board Member South East and Board Member North West of the NFF to take place on December 11 in Abuja, saying that all aspirants that participated in both disputed elections (of August 26 in Abuja and September 30 in Warri) would be eligible to contest the rescheduled election.
Ajunwa also insisted that all cleared candidates wishing to re-contest should withdraw their legal matters in court and at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in order to participate in the rescheduled election.
Unfortunately for a return to sanity in the affairs of Nigerian football, (but unsurprisingly) the Executive Committee of NFF has decided to accept the “decisions” of the members of Ajunwa’s committee who broke ranks and who declared the September 30 elections legitimate, saying it had decided to accept “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.”
Speaking in Abuja, the Chairman of the NFF Media and Publicity Committee, Hon. Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande claimed the opinions of the chairman of the Electoral Committee were of no effect saying, “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.”
“The NFF Executive Committee had the power to stop the NFF 2014 Electoral Appeals Committee from hearing the appeals, because the Electoral Code was clear on timing. The appeals must have been submitted within 14 days after the election, and the hearing must have been done 14 days after the appeals. Everything was supposed to have been concluded, in this case, by 24th October 2014, as the last appeal was presented on 10th October, but the first sitting of the committee took place on 29th October.”
As a matter of fact, the NFF Code and Guidelines clearly mandate the presence of FIFA and CAF Representatives at Executive Committee Elections, decisions of the Electoral Appeals Committee are not valid without the signature of the chairman and failure of the NFF to abide by the Code (regarding elections and the correct procedures of the Appeals Committee) is a serious violation of Article 13 of the FIFA statutes – which should lead to the measures described in Article 14 (i.e. suspension of the Federation) or other disciplinary measures.
It remains to be seen is FIFA will act as mandated by its own statutes and support Okechukwu Ajunwa or whether it will allow the farce in the Nigeria’s football administration to continue.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734876236labto1734876236ofdlr1734876236owedi1734876236sni@r1734876236ebab.1734876236kram1734876236