AGAIN, LAGOS FA BOILS

By NBF News

Unsettled dirty dust is hovering around the Lagos State Football Association again, with two fractions fighting for the soul of the body. Already a group had attempted to impeach the Chairman, Taiwo Afinnih last Thursday but could not get the desired number of people to carry out the move.

The crisis has been on for over a year, but it came to a head recently when a three-man panel comprising of Dotun Coker, Olu Lagunju and one Mojeed, was set to investigate the allegation of incompetence and fraudulent practices levelled against Afinnih. He was also alleged to be hobnobbing with the former Nigeria Football Association (NFA) leadership instead of looking for ways to develop football in the state by sourcing for sponsorship, which was the norm under the Waidi Akanni-led board.

The panel, after its investigation, passed a motion to impeach Afinnih and also a vote of no confidence on hard working secretary, Oluyemi Olusanmi. However, a counter motion raised by Kayode Oladeinde scuttled the impeachment plan, while Afinnih was said to have left the venue to call Deji Tinubu, who he supported to become a member of the Aminu Maigari-led NFA board, which had been declared illegal by the Federal High Court in Lagos.

It was gathered that the FA members felt betrayed by Afinnih, who supported Deji Tinubu in the run up to the NFA election instead of Segun Odegbami, who they felt would be a better person on the board.

In the heat of the impeachment moves, some members were said to have called on the Commissioner for Sports, Prince Ademola Adeniji-Adele, but he told them he was not interested in what happens in the FA, advising that they should go and put their house in order.

A source close to the FA told journalists that Yomi Opakunle took over preceding as soon as Afinnih left the meeting on Thursday, but the impeachment proceedings could not continue because of the counter motion by Oladeinde.

The source argued that it's clear that Akanni wasn't the problem of the FA. 'I think the problem in the FA is institutional, which has nothing to do with the leadership. It clearly shows that Akanni was not the problem of the FA in the first place because during his tenure there were competitions and he was never tied to the apron string of the NFA.'