The Anambra State Football Association (AnSFA) Election Petition Appeals Committee, upholding the October 30 elections into the association board, has ordered elections to fill the vacant positions within 14 days with effect from November 16.
The result of the Appeal Committee, obtained on Tuesday, said only the cleared candidate who stood for election in the previous exercise should be allowed to contest.
The report was signed by Okey Abazu (Chairman), Chijioke Onyedika (Secretary), members Austin Odum and Chinedu Nzeribe.
The Committee said the report followed the position by Chikwelue Iloenyosi, sole candidate for the chairmanship position of AnSFA, who was not declared winner for not scoring the simple majority votes cast in the election.
Iloenyosi scored one ‘yes’ and 19 ‘no’ votes of the total 20 votes cast.
According to the Committee, Iloenyosi needed to satisfy the provisions of Art. (16.4) of the 2018 guidelines for the NFF election, even if he is a sole candidate for the election.
According to the guidelines, an unopposed or a sole candidate must secure 50%+1 votes recorded in the first ballot to be declared duly elected.
The committee held that Philip Udala’s vote as the delegate of the Nigeria Nationwide Football League was void because he was a member of the caretaker committee that supervised the election.
Also, the vote of the coaches association delegate was void because his name and that of his secretary were different from those on the list of the electoral committee.
It said assuming that all the nine delegates that Iloenyosi alleged illegally took part in the election voted in his favour, he would have secured 10 votes which was less than the required 50%+1 votes he is expected to score.
“The appeal committee therefore upheld the result of the election and it is hereby upheld and therefore direct the Electoral Committee to conduct, as soon as possible, election to fill the vacant position of the chairman within 14 days from November 16. The appeal Committee also directs that those qualified for the election are those who have been cleared by the Electoral Committee and Appeal Committee for 2020-2024 Election. The appeal committee further directs that only the genuine statutory delegates should be allowed to cast their vote”.
