Anambra State Football Association (AnSFA) Elections held on Friday, October 30 is making waves in Nigeria’s football circle.
Despite running as an unopposed candidate for the Chairmanship position, Chikelue Iloenyosi still lost.
The Election was widely acclaimed to be seamless, the best ever in the history of football elections in the State.
Iloenyosi recorded one good vote and nineteen bad votes against out of the 20 votes cast.
The hitchfree election which took place at the Catholic Pastoral and Retreat Centre Okpuno, Awka, Anambra State under the supervision of NFF legal officer, Joshua Onoja commenced with the dissolution of the AnSFA Caretaker Committee board by its Chairman, Sir Victor Nwangwu.
Victor Aniekwena was elected the Vice Chairman of the AnSFA board with a landslide victory, polling a total of nineteen votes as against zero vote for his opponent and former NFF presidential candidate, Chinedu Okoye.
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Veteran broadcast Sports Journalist and SuperSport football commentator, Ralph Chidozie George; Ex-Junior International and former Enugu Rangers player, Oliver Ndigwe, and retired women’s referee and administrator, Cordelia Akanna were elected board members.
With the chairman’s seat and that of four other board members still vacant, a by-election will be conducted in due course to fill in the positions.
A delegate, Hon. Dumebi Onubiyi, the LFC Chairman of Njikoka Local Govt Area said: “This is the most peaceful and credible AnSFA election I have witnessed in Anambra State in all my years in football in this State. I never thought it will happen in my lifetime going by what has been happening over the years, it was lucid and winners and losers went home without rancour.”
Another delegate, Abuchi Onwumelu, A Sports Journalist and Vice Chairman of Idemili North Local Football Council was full of happiness and praised the election process.
“This is the best football Elections since the creation of Anambra State, I praise the Electoral committee for being transparent from the start to the finish, you saw that everyone went home satisfied, I saw the loser of the vice chairmanship Election, Chinedu Okoye hugging the winner, Chief Victor Aniekwena and I said that’s the spirit honestly. If we ever had such Election our Football wouldn’t have gotten to the ground zero state where it is.”
He added “The Chairmanship Election should be a wake up call for those who want to return Anambra football to the doldrum that we are tired and also the fact that the sole candidate lost showed that he did not do his home work properly, you don’t take delegates for granted because you are connected to the powers that be, this is a new Anambra and new Nigeria emerging.”
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) observer, Onoja was visibly happy with the whole process of the election.
Former NFF Secretary General and U17 World Cup winner, Fanny Amun was there and applauded the peaceful process of the election.
Football stakeholders in the State are looking forward to a new dawn of peace and development in their always crisis-ridden football.
