Ben Imadojemu Reporting
The crisis rocking Edo State Football Association has taken another dimension as the State Sports Commission is being fingered in an allegation to hijack the elections and shift the already approved time table to smuggle in for their preferred candidate who was yet to purchase the nomination form to do so.
Truth Live News reliably gathered on Monday following the impeachment of the former Chairman of the Edo FA, Mr. Roland Abu, the sports commission has perfected plans to have the election which the Nigeria Football Federal had fixed for April 19, 2023 shifted to some time in June or end of May, 2023, which of course goes against the NFF statute and subsequently attracts a ban by NFF, CAF and FIFA.
The ban according to our source at the NFF will surely affect the state owned football club, Bendel Insurance which is currently at the top of the Nigerian League, as well as the women team, Edo Queens football club.
Recall that Truth Live News had published a story in March of an attempt to bring the current Chief Medical Director CMD at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, Prof Darlington Obaseki from the back door to become the chairman of the FA even when the sales of forms were over.
Informed sources at the sports commission confirmed to our correspondent that the plot is still on hence the move by the commission to postpone the board election to give more windows for the CMD who is suspected to be working with some cabal in the sports commission to hijack football administration in Edo State dropping the name of his brother, Gov Godwin Obaseki.
Meanwhile, a press statement seen by our correspondent revealed that the issue has been reported to the Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Federation NFF who according to our source in Abuja insisted that the election must hold on the 19th as scheduled, failure could see the NFF taking over the running of football in the state or sanctions would apply, which could see the state being banned from all footballing activities in Nigeria and Africa, with Bendel Insurance FC and Edo Queens getting hammered too.