A leading Chairmanship Aspirant in last week’s Ekiti State Football Association election, Ojo Bamidele Anthony has termed the process as monumental fraud perfected by incumbent Ekiti FA boss Bayo Olanlege and his stogies, as he calls for a rerun.
Chief Olu Oloworemo was declared the winner of the grossly manipulated election that has ridiculed the beautiful round leather game in the state.
Anthony, who has a valid case listed why the election that saw Oloworemo emerge as chairman of Ekiti FA be considered void, as he called for a rerun in his detailed protest letter to the Chairman Ekiti State Football Association Election Appeal Committee- titled ‘PROTEST AGAINST THE JUST CONCLUDED EKITI STATE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION ELECTIVE CONGRESS, HELD ON SATURDAY 27TH MAY, 2023’
And in his prayers, Anthony called for a new Electoral Committee to be set up, while due process and strict adherence to the Electoral Guidelines be allowed in the advent of a rerun election, to determine the real winner of the Ekiti State Football Association Chairmanship Election.
The content of the letter read further: Matters of Complaints: Electoral Guidelines were not strictly followed and grossly violated on the following grounds.
GROUNDS:
- DELEGATE AND VOTING
- MODE OF ELECTION / DETERMINE OF WINNER
- ELIGIBILITY OF EKITI STATE COACHING ASSOCIATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EKITI FA ELECTION
Electoral Guidelines on DELEGATE AND VOTING in Section B (a): Delegates eligible to participate in this election shall be the very delegates that took part in the EKSFA Extra-ordinary General Assembly of 18th April 2023 or their acknowledged representatives via a certified letter to the Ekiti State FA and the Electoral Committee, 24 hours before the date of the election.
But in the case of Aiyekire Local Government, section B(a) was grossly violated. During the roll call of delegates, the Secretary of Aiyekire Local Football Council whose Chairman was absent was denied the right to vote in the absence of his Chairman. Only an observer who claimed to be a member of the Aiyekire LFC showed up while voting is about to commence and presented a notification message via Whatsapp from the absentee LFC Chairman, that, he should vote on his behalf. This is contrary to section B(a) of the Ekiti Electoral Guidelines quoted above.
Electoral Guidelines on MODE OF ELECTION / DETERMINE OF WINNER in Section D:
A candidate shall be deemed to have won a particular position on securing by simple majority the total number of valid votes cast except for the position of Chairman where 2/3 of a total number of valid votes cast is required in the ballot, failure of which simple majority of total valid votes cast required in the second ballot between the two candidates with the highest number of the valid vote cast in the ballot.
But in the case of determining the winner of the Chairman, section D of the electoral guidelines was grossly violated. We were three (3) Aspirants that contested the position of Chairmanship of the Ekiti FA, the votes scored by the three (3) of us are as follows:
Olu Oloworemo 10 Votes
Ojo Bamidele Anthony 9 Votes
Fabunmi 1 Vote
According to Section D above, it is expected that the Electoral Committee will conduct a rerun immediately between the Candidate with 10 votes and myself having scored 9 votes to determine the winner since we both did not meet the requirement of 2/3 as provided by the electoral guidelines, only for the Electoral Committee to go ahead and announced Olu Oloworemo as the winner. This is contrary to Section D of the Electoral Guidelines quoted above.
ELIGIBILITY OF EKITI STATE COACHING ASSOCIATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EKITI FA ELECTION
I also wish to bring to the notice of the Ekiti State Football Association Elective Congress Appeal Committee, that, two (2) Ekiti Football Coaches who participated in the Elective Congress on behalf of the Coaches Association.
Aside from the Coaches Association’s Chairman, Ekiti – Coach Victor Olanrewaju Ajayi, who was a Legitimate Delegate, the duo of Bolarinwa Idris; elected as a Board Member, and Mayowa Afolabi; voted as a representative of the Coaches Association were ineligible to vote.
In the letter from the country’s apex coaching body on 8th of April, 2023 and signed by the President of the Association, Dr. Ladan Isah Bosso,
Idris was on indefinite suspension and with dismay was allowed to participate in the electoral process and was voted for as a board member on the platform of Nigeria Football Coaches Association, Ekiti State chapter.
While coach Mayowa Afolabi who’s on five years ban impersonated the state chairman’s voting right.
Anthony has urged the Appeal Committee to nullify the Ekiti State Football Association Elective Congress held on Saturday 27th May on the ground that the Electoral Guidelines were grossly violated on the three (3) grounds raised above.
That due process and strict adherence to the Electoral Guidelines be allowed in the advent of a rerun election, to determine the real winner of the Ekiti State Football Association Chairmanship Election.
New Electoral Committee be set up to conduct the rerun, as the Electoral Committee that conducted the May 27th election had displayed a high level of incompetence, and disregard for the Statutes of the Football Association and the Ekiti Football Association Electoral Gu, sidelines anbecauseact that the Chairman of the the the the Electoral Committee is a personal Lawyer to the immediate past Chairman of the Board of Ekiti FA, Bayo Olanlege.
Furthermore, that true representative(s) of the Ekiti State Coaches Association be represented at the new election to be conducted as I hope the Appeal Committee will do justice to the grounds raised in the petition.
