By Patrick Omorodion
Following the plan of the Sani Lulu-led Nigeria Football Association, NFA Board to shut out their opponents from  the August election to allow them easy return, former Green Eagles skipper, Chief Segun Odegbami (MON) has asked  FIFA to call for the association’s statutes which it wants to conduct the  election with.

Odegbami

In a letter to FIFA dated June 10,2010, Chief Odegbami told FIFA that the amended statutes of the NFA “have not been presented to either the members of the General Assembly at any meeting, or distributed to all member associations of the NFF for their information, knowledge and consideration.”

Chief Odegbami who is gunning to get into the NFA Board and possibly contest for the chairmanship position said that the amended statutes have also not been re-presented to FIFA as demanded by the world body.

“FIFA’s statement is very clear and explicit – The new draft statutes, when they are revised should be sent to FIFA for approval before being presented to the General Assembly for ratification. The Assembly’s final assent at that point converts the draft into applicable law,” he stated.

He stated  that the scheming of the Lulu-led NFA “requires your (FIFA) urgent attention, intervention, clarification, education and engagement in order for a repeat of the unfortunate episode of 2005 (the removal of Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima) not to happen.”

He therefore prayed that FIFA should do five things with regards to the NFA election. These include:
That “FIFA should investigate the claims I have made by calling for all the documents I have referred to including the final draft of the 2010 NFF Statutes and the electoral code for an assessment and critical evaluation.
That “After FIFA’s appraisal and possible approval or amendments to the statutes, the NFF should be directed to submit the approved document to the General Assembly of the NFF for ratification by the mandatory number of members before it can become operational for the running of football in Nigeria.

That “A proper process of elections should now be put in place based on the new statutes, and in accordance to the details and letters of the statutes.

That “The statutes must be clear on the delegates and their qualification to participate in the elections into the NFF Executive Committee.

That “The Electoral Committee must be appointed by the NFF with persons that reflect neutrality and whose interests do not clash with the interest of any of the contestants including the incumbent President should he choose to run.
And finally that “FIFA should advise the NFF to stop the present unclear electoral process  until all the anomalies in the conflicting statutes and processes are resolved.

Chief Odegbami got a reply from FIFA on Thursday from its Director of Member Associations and Development, Thierry Regenass assuring him that it would surely monitor the election process.

“We would like to thank you for your e-mail and your comments. We can assure you that FIFA is and will be following closely the NFF’s electoral process,” Regenass wrote.