A former chairman of the Gombe State Football Association, Alhaji Ahmed Shuaibu-Gara Gombe, has faulted the roadmap released by the Electoral Committee for the September 30 election into the executive board of the Nigeria Football Federation.
“The process is not transparent and Electoral Committee appears to be working on an agenda to disenfranchise certain candidates in favour of others. It said sale of forms would begin on August 29 but was silent on the venue for the forms’ purchase,” Gombe said.
“Also, the committee is going on with organising the election even as the key aspect of the statutes that should enable expansion of the elective congress has yet to be resolved,” he added.
Gombe also faulted the candidates’ screening period fixed for two days after which candidates that are screened out would file protests to have their complaints heard.
“To say the very least, this is chocking and it suggests a premeditated plan by the electoral committee to frustrate some candidates out of the race. It is even most disappointing that the committee did not deem it fit to release a concise guideline for the election that is supposed to be free, fair and credible,” Gombe also said.
The astute football administrator, who is one of the aspirants for the NFF presidency, has been a vanguard in the campaign to expand the current elective congress of the NFF which he said would help Nigeria achieve the desired development of football.
Gombe has launched a 10-point agenda that comprises transparency, accountability, good governance, inclusiveness, players’ welfare, financial independence, grassroots development, staff welfare and professionalism, infrastructural development and institutional collaboration.
