By Okhide Em’ya David
Edo State Football Association Chairman, Hon. Osaro Asemota has described his purported sack by some members of the Board as illegal, null and void, as according to him, they lack such powers to do so.
The crisis in the sports body took a worsening dimension during the week when some aggrieved board members alleged to be sponsored by some top government officials at a meeting impeached him from office alleging poor performance and theft of public funds.
The meeting was said to have ended in fiasco with Chairman, his Vice, Comrade Roland Abu and few members walking out while others allegedly sponsored by the powerful elements in government accused the suspended chairman of lack of leadership qualities making the FA non-functional for the past 16 months.
A statement signed by 6 out of the 9 Board members, though, 3 have denied appending their signatures on the Statement suspending the chairman accused him of working without due process, lack of accountability and transparency with regards to FA funds, refusal to constitute standing committees and managing the Body as a personal organization.
Other grey areas pointed out by the aggrieved members of the Edo FA Board were alleged insensitivity to welfare of members, and gross lack of Team Spirit as exhibited in his constituting of ad-hoc committees without recourse to laid down procedures.
The aggrieved Members were said to have appointed the Vice Chairman Comrade Roland Abu to act as Interim Chairman.
The 6 Board members who signed the suspension notice are Paul Ojeisokhoba, Mr. Faith Ojeaga, Mrs Latifa Aliu, Ms Faith Irabor, Kindness Ohiowele and Dr. O.M Aghedo.
Reacting to the alleged suspension, Hon. Osaro Asemota said they don’t have such powers to sack him from office describing the attempt as an exercise in futility.
He said they were not the ones that voted him as the Chairman of Edo FA, and that they were not the Congress who can remove him as well.
He debunked all the allegations against him as baseless while accusing his antagonists as playing a script designed by their Masters.
He recalled that the meeting where his purported removal from office was hatched had ended in a stalemate and inconclusive while explaining that the so called vexed issue of setting up of Committees was not relevant as those committees are over a year old and wondered why it is just being raised.
He said the major accusations against him at the meeting was that his political affiliation to the opposition in the State was why the State Government had denied them patronage, to which he explains that sports administration was supposed to be free of political manipulation or independent of political considerations.
As at the time of this report the State Ministry of Sports was yet to issue an official Statement on the matter.
