Suspended member of the Nigeria Premier League board, Akin Akinbobola, warns that football in Nigeria risks credibility if statutes are bypassed in making important decision.Akinbobola said the problems in Nigerian football was affecting the future of the players, wondering why a player that could not make the national team while playing in Nigeria suddenly got a call to the team two months after moving to another club in Africa.It shows that there is a problem within which can be solved if we do the right thing. Suddenly, a player who moves to Sudan, Qatar or Singapore has become a star that must play in the Super Eagles or Flying Eagles, he said.The member representing South West zone on the board made reference to the FIFA standard electoral code as contained in Article 3 on basic principles of electoral committee, Article 5 on composition of electoral committee and the 6th article of the duties of the committee, which he said were evaded before the last NPL election that produced the current president of the body, Victor Baribote, was held on September 14.Akinbobola also kicked against his exclusion from the election, which according to him, was an action that contradicted the rulings of the Justice G.O.Kolawole and the Ibidapo-Obe Arbitration award.After the errors of September 14, I decided to follow the football laid down procedure of appeal in line with Article 12 of the FIFA standard electoral code and electoral guideline of the NPL. The case was supposed to have been heard two weeks after the appeal was filed but about three months after, nothing has been said. Instead, the congress sat two weeks ago and suspended me illegally, he said.He added that he had sent many reminders to National Sports Commission, the Nigeria Football Federation and NPL.The legal department of the NFF sent the appeal back to NPL to act accordingly but after realising that I have a good case, it did not act, instead, I was suspended, he said.Article 15 of the NPL spells out the procedure that leads to expulsion or suspension of a memner. Unfortunately, the procedure was not followed. Until now, I have not received a suspension letter even when I asked for it.When asked if removal of the headship of the NPL was his target, Akinbobola said he was not desperate and that he only wanted the body to follow the process for future reference.There is a process of getting redress but I have held myself back from going to court. If Baribote eventually wins, I will be the first person to congratulate him; after all he is my friend. But if nothing is done in the next one week, I may have to go to court.
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