MAFO HAS VINDICATED ME -OWUMI

By NBF News

The verdict delivered by the former commissioner for sports in Ondo state, John Ola Mafo, last Friday at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Appeals Committee, which states that the decision of the appeals committee is final, has turned Davidson Owumi into a preacher.

In a chat with Daily Sunsports, the embattled chairman of the Nigeria Premier League, said time would expose those bent on damaging football in Nigeria and asked those who set up the arbitration panel to try him even when the appeals committee had decided on his case to bury their heads in shame.

' I am happy with what is happening in Nigerian football at present.

Now, the same NFF that said it had the right to set up an arbitration panel to try a case that had been decided by an appeals committee had come out to tell Nigerians that the decision of an appeals committee was final.

'This shows that all the while, I have been witch hunted by a certain group of people who hate to see my face but I leave them to their fate because history will definitely vindicate me. ' Mafo told the whole world that there is no provision anywhere for arbitration panel and that any aggrieved party should head to the Court of Arbitration in Sports (CAS) which is the right thing but I believe that the whole world is listening.

' I believe that Nigerians are now better informed on the deceit that had transpired since I was elected chairman of the Nigeria Premier League (NPL). 'The agenda of a small clique the believes that it has more stake than some of us had overtaken the overall good of the game.

'In the nearest feature, they will come out and explain to us why they messed up our football,' he said.

It could be recalled that the NFF Election Appeal Committee on Friday nullified the elections of Dilichukwu Onyedinma and Chief Emeka Inyama as chairmen of the women and National Leagues respectively.

Onyedinma and Inyama were elected chairmen of the women and national leagues on January 29, 2011 elections some of the contestants opposed on the basis that it violated some sections of the NFF statutes on federal character.

Aisha Falode, who contested the chairmanship position of the women league, fiercely challenged the election of Onyedinma on noncompliance with the football house statutes on geo-political balancing.

Chairman of the Election Appeal Committee, Barrister Ola Mafo, said the committee decided to void the respective elections in other to redress the imbalance created by the election of the respective persons. 'The election appeal committee has nullified the elections of January 29, 2011 as it concerns Mrs Dilichukwu Onyedinma and Chief Emeka Inyama on the following grounds.

'As at January 29, the NFF board, as constituted, has two members from each of the five geo-political zones except North-east that has one member and after the January 29 election, did not have additional member still retaining its one member, while other zones have more than two or more members.

'Article 33, paragraph 1 of the NFF statutes clearly states that each geo-political zone should have two members each. Thus, with six geo-political zones in Nigeria and 15-member format of the NFF board, an election will produce 12 the other three seats are spread to ensure balance among the zones.