Ekiti FA Crisis: Stakeholders petition sports council

Ekiti FA Crisis: Stakeholders petition sports council boss By Akeem Busari The lingering crises rocking the Ekiti State Football Association has been described as not only disheartening and damaging to the growth and development of the game, but also inimical to the unity amongst the football fraternity in the state. In a petition sent to the General Manager of Ekiti State Sports Council, Mr. Ayodeji Samo, and signed by the FA's Vice Chairman Otunba A.Y.O Ariyo, on behalf of concerned Ekiti FA board members, and made available to the press, it chronicled the problems that have engulfed the FA in recent times. The petition read in parts; " Our careful research into the unhealthy relationship amongst us, the Ekiti State Football Association Board is traceable to ineptitude and lack of knowledge of the F A Secretaries as regards the Ekiti State Football Association Statute guiding the running of football and football activities in the state. " Since the posting of the now Director of Facilities, Mrs Adegbuji out of the FA office, it seems getting her replacement has been a tough task for the Sports Council management. " From the posting of Mr. Olumide Bamidele as the Ekiti State FA Secretary to Mrs. Funmilola Akomolafe and to the current FA Secretary, Mr. Muyiwa Oke, the Football Association had known no peace and it has left little to be desired in the football development of the state." In the petition, Otunba Ariyo equally lamented that the sports council boss has been supportive of the inexperienced and inept Olumuyiwa Oke, who is presently the FA secretary. It continued; " Till date, Mr. Olumide Bamidele is refunding the over One million and seven hundred thousand naira (N1.7m ) he was found to have embezzled during his time as the Secretary of the EKFA, after the FA account was audited internally within the Ekiti State Sports Council. " It would be recalled that the Ekiti State Sports Council raised a panel within its system which indicted Mr. Olumide Bamidele who unfortunately, was a victim of the cruelty, greediness and wickedness of the FA chairman who took advantage of the ignorance of the young officer's lack of knowledge of the Rules and Regulations guiding football management in the FA as clearly stated in the statute led to his predicament. " The coming of Mrs. Akomolafe was worse as the woman was hardly literate enough to write a single official document for the FA. Her inadequacies led to the FA chairman usurping the position of the FA Secretary as he held to himself all documents of the Association and treated all correspondences on his own. The FA Chairman treated files, had in his custody letterhead papers and official stamp of the FA, as well as, keeping the password and email address of the State FA to himself. The advent of Mr. Muyiwa Oke rather than solving the chaos in the association brought in anarchy and pandemonium, all because he has no knowledge of the rules and regulations guiding football activities as stated in the FA Statute." The petition further accused the FA secretary, Olumuyiwa Oke of the following; " That he has never sat or took minutes in a Board meeting with members of the Board of the Ekiti State FA despite several calls for one.; that he had laid claim to calling one meeting on an Easter Monday, a meeting which notice was received barely 7hrs before time. This was supposed to be a statutory meeting where the FA Secretary would have been introduced to the Board for the first time. The Statute clearly stated how a Board meeting should be called by the FA Secretary. " That, Mr. Olumuyiwa Oke allowed his personal relationship with his protégé, the FA chairman, to becloud his judgment. It has been confirmed that he, the FA Secretary, housed and mentored the FA chairman several years back while in tertiary institution, where the FA chairman had gone for a diploma course. " This relationship which could have been used to strengthen the FA as a whole has however, pushed the FA Secretary to act only on the instructions of the FA Chairman. Thus totally neglecting the guiding book of the association, the FA Statute. It is disturbing to note the many school boy errors of the FA Secretary also included the following: I. Unilaterally setting up a disciplinary committee with the FA Chairman without recourse to the procedure as stated in the FA Statute. II. Refusing to call meetings of the Board of the FA after so many requests from the majority of the Board members as stated in the Statute. III. Calling a meeting of his friends and those of his protégé, the FA Chairman and claiming it as a Congress where ridiculous decisions were made." The petition noted that the FA statute clearly states how a Congress should be called and the members who constitute a Congress. As it went on to inferred that the majority of the board members of the FA, including messrs; A.Y.O. Ariyo, Adebayo Olanlege, Ilesanmi Fatukasi, Isaac Ibidun, Shyllon Aregbesola and Joshua Ajibewa, thereby requests that the FA Secretary, be posted out of the FA office within 10 working days and a new name is suggested for the position to save the Ekiti State Sports Council from further embarrassment." The petition was concluded thus; " Permit us to inform you that in view of the prevailing situation, we have appointed the service of a temporary FA Secretary and plan is on the way to lease a temporary FA office outside the sports council complex. " If the Ekiti State Sports Council does not see reasons after this letter to do as requested, we shall take the appropriate step as guided by the Statute of the Football Association."