‘NPL To Conduct Championship Election Soon’

The Nigeria Premier League (NPL) Board has said that its electoral committee would soon conduct fresh elections as directed by a Federal High Court in Abuja.

A Federal High Court had on August 2, ordered the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) to conduct fresh elections into two NPL board positions.

The positions are those of the chairman and the chairman of Club Chairmen, whose elections are to hold within 30 days and not later than 45 days of the judgment

Justice Gabriel Kolawole had given the order in a suit filed by Mr Davidson Owumi, erstwhile chairman of the board.

Owumi had prayed the court to order the NFA to declare him winner of the May 8, 2010 NPL elections, after the association had ordered his removal in December 2010 during its congress in Uyo.

He had also sought the court’s order to declare that the arbitration panel chaired by Prof. Akin Ibidapo-Obe was not legally constituted and therefore lacked powers to remove him from office.

Consequently, the NFA last week directed the NPL to act in line with the court’s order.

The Chairman of NPL’s Media and Publicity Committee, Mr Akin Akinbobola, said the board decided to act in line with both the court’s order and NFA’s directive.

Akinbobola, who briefed newsmen at the end of the board meeting on Wednesday in Abuja, said the league body had directed its secretariat to send NFA’s letter to the Electoral Committee.

“We decided to forward the NFA letter to the Electoral Committee asking for the elections to be held as ruled by the Federal High Court, for action, and we expect the committee to swing into action very soon,’’ he said.

The NPL board spokesman said both the Electoral Committee headed by Mr Tony Rafua and the Appeals Committee headed by Barr. Isaac Danladi,would stand as earlier constituted by the NPL board in 2010.

It will be recalled that the members of the electoral committee were, Rafua, My Tony Ogola, Alhaji Muazu Suleiman, Prince Oladimeji Thompson, Malam Awalu Baba-Jada, Mr Felix Anyansi-Agwu and Mr Alhassan Yakmut.

Both Suleiman and Anyansi-Agwu are now NFA board members.

Yakmut, who was its Secretary, and then the NPL Executive Secretary on secondment from the National Sports Commission (NSC), has returned to the commission.

The Appeals Committee has Danladi, Suleiman David and Uzor Paul as members.

Akinbobola, who is also NPL board member, said the league body had no reason to tamper with the constitution of both the electoral and appeals committees.

“The committees are returning to their duties as they are like standing committees, and we have no reason to effect any change,’’ he said.