NFF POLLS: CONFUSION TRAILS S/EAST STAKEHOLDERS MEETING

Anyansi
The dream of the South East zone to go into the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) elections with one voice appears to have been shattered after the zone's stakeholders meeting held at Nnewi on friday ended in cacophony.

Though the stakeholders, after the marathon meeting, said the duo of Chief Felix Anyansi Agwu and Christian Chukwu had been chosen to represent the zone on the NFF board, some of the aspirants led by Chief Mike Umeh insisted that the meeting ended in deadlock.

Chief Emeka Inyama, who presided over the meeting, had after the parley, told sports journalists that a decision which approved the duo of Anyansi and Chukwu to fly the zone's flag had been taken, even as he added that Chief Fan Ndubuoke was equally given the greenlight to vie for the presidency.

In Inyama's words:”We resolved that Chief Felix Anyansi and Christian Chukwu should fly the South East's flag, and that was based on the fact that it is the turn of Abia and Enugu to produce NFF board members from the zone. On Fan Ndubuoke, we gave him a special consideration to go ahead and try his luck for the presidency of the board. We can't scuttle his lofty ambition of being the NFF president, moreso when he is eminently qualified and credible.”

But Chief Mike Umeh and Obinna Ogba in their separate reactions insisted that no decision was reached at the stakeholders meeting. “It ended in deadlock”, Umeh said, even as he said he would go ahead to run for the first vice chairmanship position. Ogba, the acting first vice chairman said he is still in the race.

Interestingly, secretary of the stakeholders forum, Barrister Iyke Igbokwe, said all the candidates had been cleared to hit Abuja for the elections.

Igbokwe stressed that it is not true that there are certain positions that the South East zone is not interested in.

“We have not stopped anybody from pursuing his ambition of being on the NFF board. I wish all the candidates luck,” he said.