Five of the six members of the NFF Electoral Appeals’ Committee had on Wednesday ruled that the polls that brought in Amaju Pinnick as the federation’s president was in order and dismissed the petitions by some aggrieved members, including Iyke Igbokwe, Shehu Dikko, and Muazu Suleiman challenging the conduct of the exercise held in Warri on September 30.
But on Thursday, the panel’s chairman, Ajunwa, who did not endorse the first verdict, released his own version of the report, which annulled Amaju’s election as NFF president, as well as that of Felix Anyansi Agwu (SouthEast) and Rabiu Inua (NorthWest) as zonal representatives on the board.
Reacting to the conflicting verdicts Friday, Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Gbenga Elegbeleye, said it was preposterous for an individual to assume superiority over five other members in a panel of six judges.
He said the Commission will accept the majority decision of the Appeals Committee, which threw out the petitions against the polls and upheld the election of Amaju Pinnick and other members of the NFF Board.
“The NSC will accept the majority decision of the Appeals Committee because it is the civilized judicial norm and we must not be seen to apply it the other way round with a minority report holding sway,” Elegbeleye said.
According to Patrick Omorodion, a Special Assistant to Sports Minister, Tammy Danagogo, “By this position, the NSC recognizes the election of the Amaju Pinnick-led board as the Director-General urges all football stakeholders to support the board in its bid to reposition football in the country.”
Also condemning Ajunwa’s verdict on the appeals, members of the NFF congress, which is the highest decision-making body in Nigerian football, said it “would not be involved in any fresh elections or by-elections (or whatever name it may be called) into the NFF executive committee.”
According to Chairman of the Abia State Football Association,
Ephraim C. Chukwuemeka, the recognized leader of the NFF Congress, who spoke on behalf of the Chairmen of the 36 states’ football associations and the FCT, and other congressmen, the body dismissed Ajunwa’s recommendation for by-elections into positions he declared vacant.
He said: “The NFF Congress was appropriately convoked in Warri, Delta State on Tuesday, September 30, 2014 and we conducted one of the fairest elections ever seen or possible. The Congress gave Mr. Amaju Pinnick and other members of the NFF Board a four-year tenure.
“As far as we are concerned, the next time the Congress will be convoked for elections into NFF Executive Committee is in four years’ time. We are not aware of any elections being planned by anybody for any period earlier than that time.”
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