Gombe Sports Stakeholders Forum petitions NFF

The Gombe State Football and Sports Stakeholders Forum has written a letter of petition to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), over a recent election into
local football council in the state.

In the letter dated May 23, 2023, addressed to the Secretary General of the NFF, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, by Firmness Associates, the legal representative of the
aggrieved party, the Gombe State Football and Sports Stakeholders Forum alleged that in March this year, the state football association chairman Mr Yakubu
Sarma, football association secretary and one Mr Ibrahum Gimba, a board member of the state football association, conducted election into the Local Football
Council without carrying along members who would have been interested in the exercise.

It further alleged that all the chosen winners in the election are civil servants.

“The FA Chairman, Mr Yakubu Sarma, FA secretary and one Mr Ibrahim Gimba, who is voatd member of the FA, went and conducted election (Local Football Council
Election) against the principle of fairness, without putting notice to that effect to all the members who will be interested in either contesting or voting
their preferred candidate at the election”, the petition reads.

“The copy of the purported list of the local football council election appointees who are all civil servants is hereby attached and marked as N.A1.

That the members of Gombe State Sports and Football Stakeholders Forum are eligible to contest or vote their preferred candidate in the election.

But the FA chairman, the secretary and Mr Ibrahim Gimba claimed to have conducted election (Local Football Council Election) who elected them, how many votes each of them got, which electoral process they used, which FA statute they used to conduct the election, etc.

There was no notice of the local elections, no forms sold, no screening and.no congress held to approve the elections’.

The forum said it held a meeting on the development and among other resolutions, decides to uphold FIFA, CAF and NFF statutes, and issued a 7-day ultimatum
to the Gombe State Football Association to within the time of receipt of this letter, issue “copies of the state statutes, election guidelines, electoral
code and full list of congress members and their constituencies.”

The Gombe State Football and Sports Stakeholders Forum urges the NFF secretary to immediately intervene, investigate the issue and suspend the “propose state
election until after investigation and resolution of the matter.”