NPL BOARD ACCEPTS FRESH CHAIRMANSHIP POLL

The board of the Nigerian Premier League (NPL) rose from an emergency meeting yesterday accepting to obey the Federal High Court ruling in Abuja last week directing the board through the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to organise a fresh election into the vacant positions of the NPL Chairman and Chairman of Chairmen.

Addressing the media after the meeting held at the NPL secretariat in Abuja, a member of the board, Akin Akinbobola, said that having received a letter from the NFF instructing them to organise the elections in compliance to the court ruling, they have already directed the electoral committee to roll out modalities for the election within the stipulated time.

'We want to let know the decision the board has taken after our meeting. We want to let you know that we have gotten the letter from the NFF board asking that elections should take place for the position of the Chairman of NPL and the Chairman of chairmen within 30 days and not later than 45 days according to ruling of the Federal High Court.

The board has mandated the acting executive secretary to forward the letter to the electoral committee headed by Mr. Tony Rafua, for immediate action.

Asked the genuineness of the Rafua-led electoral committee in conducting a fresh election when the Arbitration Panel set up by the NFF cancelled the election he conducted and the High court upheld it, Akinbobola, in his argument said that the duo of Maurice Iwu and Prof Altahiru Jega still presided over the cancelled elections they conducted.

'Prof. Jega and Iwu conducted elections in this country that were nullified, but the nullification of the election did not disqualify them from supervising another fresh election.

The truth is that there is no ruling anywhere in this country which indicted them and make them unworthy to conduct the fresh election.

He NPL board member also reacted to the appeal suit reportedly filed by the former chairman, Dadidson Owumi, stopping the election, noting: 'Although the electoral committee will look at the papers if there is any and take drastic actions accordingly, I want to say that we have not received any letter to that effect.'