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By Amaechi Agbo

On Tuesday, July 28, 2020, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF issued a press statement, hastily, condemning the July 27 Anambra State Football Association’s elections that returned Senator Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah as chairman for another four-term in office, Bestchoicesports.com.ng can report.

In the election, Senator Ubah was reelected unopposed after 22 out of 26 delegates endorsed his candidature.

But in a swift reaction, the NFF acting a bad and unintelligent script, issued a press release on Tuesday declaring that “no election was held in Anambra state.”

The release further stated that the election was a brigandage and dissociated themselves from the result of the election.

The reaction has generated heated debate with many stakeholders describing it as hasty, ill-timed and ridiculous.

According to findings made by NSM media, it noted that an NFF official sent to supervise the Anambra FA elections was driven in a white bus belonging to the Anambra state government house, from Awka to the Owerri airport.

The report further adds that they had two police excorts in front of the vehicle on their way to the airport.

“On getting to the airport, this NFF official removed 25,000 naira from his pocket and gave to the police excorts.

“It may surprise you, that the same official had told colleagues before leaving the venue of Chidi Ofor’s burial in Enugu state that he is very broke and was on his way to Awka to get money for Sallah ram.

“So are you surprised that he left the venue of the election on the day of voting and didn’t wait for the electoral committee’s report before going to press?

“Another report has it that he was seen with the secretary to the FA and the VP of the Anambra State Football Association on the eve of the election discussing in his room.

“An eye witness who walked in at the time of the discussion said he could barely hear them as they didn’t want him to hear what they were discussing.

“The next morning, he was chauffeur driven to the airport and accorded princely reception. As a show of gratitude, he offered 25,000 naira gift to the excorts for a job well done,” the report said.

It further added that the plan of the unnamed NFF official along with the ANSFA Vice Chairman and Secretary was to collude with government house to ensure that the elections scheduled for 27 and 28 July did not hold.

The report alleged that the NFF official plotted to bribe the ANSFA Electoral Committee chairman, Mr Jude Anyadofu with N5 million but the chairman, being a man of unblemished record and impeccable integrity, declined the the ill offer.

“Our very impeccable source has it on good authority that the state government has concluded plans with the vice chairman and the FA secretary to make sure that there was no election on Monday, with a promise that, they will deliberately frustrate the process until the tenure of this present board expires so that they will now make the vice chairman head of a caretaker committee to be set up by government, to oversee the running of football in the state ahead of fresh elections.

“They made efforts to disqualify Chief Ubah after realising that no one in the board or outside has the clout to compete against him for the position of chairman but all requests fell on deaf ears as chairman of the electoral committee, Mr Jude Anyadofu stood his grounds insisting that the right thing must be done.

“Realising they could not penetrate Mr Jude who had earlier refused a cash gift of 5m naira, they thought of other means to frustrate the process.

“The congress got wind of these clandestine moves and immediately converged for an extraordinary meeting that led to the election of yesterday.

“He who pays the piper, they say will always dictate the tune. The Anambra state government felt that the only way for them to save face and regain their pride was to pile pressure on the man they paid to do a yeoman job so they put a call across to him in his house somewhere in the north and he reacted quickly by nullifying the process and declaring the election of monday a charade.

“The last has not been heard of this very interesting and intriguing story as we are seriously compiling audio confessions from witnesses before coming out with a strong position.

“As we speak, the vice chairman of the Anambra State Football Association has gone into hiding. We hear he had sought refuge at government house.

The federal government on Tuesday declared Thursday and Friday public holidays to enable Nigerian Muslims to mark the Sallah celebration.