Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Guardian Nigeria
Published on 2024-01-27 03:30:27
Amanze Uchegbulam, the former Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has expressed his sense of vindication following the recent nullification of the 2022 NFF board elections by an Appeal Court. The court ruled that the elections, which ushered in the Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau-led board, were conducted using court orders obtained from dubious means and therefore ordered the sacking of all board members. This decision was seen as an avoidable consequence of a misadventure.
Uchegbulem, a former member of the Confederation of Africa Football Arbitration Committee and a Presidential aspirant in the 2022 NFF election, revealed that he withdrew from the exercise due to a directive from the Minister of Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare, to suspend the election being ignored by the NFF electoral committee. He cited the court order from Hon. Justice I.E. Ekwo as the reason for his withdrawal and expressed his commitment to participating in the election once the court order was vacated or resolved by the parties.
Following the Appeal Court’s decision, Uchegbulam stated, “I am vindicated by this development. The court has said the counter Order was procured through ‘deceit’ as it was not from an authentic source. It was all out of desperation. Too bad.”
The nullification of the NFF board elections also led to the striking out of all processes related to the NFF appeal, with the court ordering the deletion of these processes from the court systems immediately due to dubious orders and deceit in the electoral process.
In conclusion, the recent decision by the Appeal Court has brought a sense of validation to Amanze Uchegbulam, who had withdrawn from the NFF elections to uphold his integrity and comply with the court order. It is a significant development in the ongoing governance and administration of football in Nigeria.
