New twist in Lagos FA leadership crisis as Congress defies court order to sack Oki, votes in Gafar
By Olusola Adebayo
The long standing leadership crisis in Lagos State Football Association took a new twist on Saturday as the chairman of the board, Fuad Oki was impeached by the Congress defying a Lagos Court injunction.
The embattled football boss and politician was booted out of office by the extraordinary general assembly which was convened on Saturday 23rd of March 2024 after a vote of no confidence and subsequently sacked as 12 out of the 14 members of the Congress voted for his impeachment.
The Congress which was witnessed by the representative of the Nigeria Football Federation cited high handedness and unauthorized withdrawal of funds from the federation purse amongst other unpardonable offences.
The Congress swiftly voted in L'ameed Gafar as the new Chairman and the 36 Lion FC boss declared that the running of football in the state won't be as usual but as normal.
" This is a huge task but I want to assure you that , all together, we will bring the glorious days of football in Lagos State . It won't be business as usual but " football business is normal" , Gafar said during his acceptance speech.
Keen watchers of the leadership drama in the FA say this may not be the end to the crisis as there is a court injunction which prohibited the Congress but the members of the board defied the order saying football matters are not meant for the regular law court.
" This cant be said to be the end to the lingering crisis as the former chairman will definitely fight back and he might use the instrument of the law" a stakeholder told our correspondent in anonymity.
" This includes contempt of court as Fuad Oki has taken the board to court as well as some individuals on the board over the purported suspension of the former chairman late last year. I can confirm to you that he got an injunction In a Lagos high court preventing today's Congress as the judge rules that the status quo should be maintained pending the outcomes of all cases before the court"
Fuad Oki was overwhelming elected as the chairman of the board in an election which ended the reign of Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi as the boss of the board.
The new board comes with lots of expectations as many Lagosians are looking forward to a new dawn of better football administration of football in the state but things turn awry after a few months as the board plunged into the present leadership criss which has slow down the progress of football in Lagos State.
