Akinboboye Jephthah, President of FC Unity, Ondo City, and chairmanship aspirant for the Ondo West Local Football Council at the March 7, 2025 FA election, has explained why he approached the High Court over the outcome of the recently concluded Football Association election in Ondo State.
He was joined in the legal action by Kayode Adeyemi, popularly known as Imported, who is the immediate past Chairman of the Ondo State Football Coaches Association. Both men cited irregularities and alleged misconduct as their reasons for seeking judicial redress.
The litigants said they approached the court to seek justice over the awkward and irregular manner in which the State FA election, held on the 11th of March 2025, was conducted.
According to them, the elections were marred by monumental fraud and a clear display of impunity which, if left unchallenged, could become the norm in future FA elections.
They stressed that fair play, justice, and the rule of law would never prevail again in the association unless action is taken.
In their words, “We are deeply pained by the way and manner the elections were conducted by the Electoral Committee, which was expected to display transparent honesty and abide by the established statutes and rules of the association.
” We consider the elections a charade and a monumental fraud which, if not contested in a court of competent jurisdiction, will doom grassroots football and jeopardise the hopes of the younger generation of players in the state.”
“We strongly believe in the court’s ability to right the wrongs perpetrated by the Electoral Committee, as the court remains the last hope of the common man.
Some stakeholders who are benefitting from this illegality are insinuating that football matters cannot be challenged in court.
These are enemies of progress who are not interested in the growth or development of grassroots football, which has been in a comatose state for years.
“We do not understand why the operators cannot simply adhere to the statutes guiding the operations of the association.
“It is well known that Nigeria’s constitution and laws supersede any statutes, whether FIFA, CAF, or NFF.
“Therefore, when these laws are flagrantly violated by power-hungry individuals, they can and should be challenged in a court of competent jurisdiction to correct the injustice.”
“We are ardent democrats who believe in doing the right thing at all times.
“We cannot condone illegality. We are men of proven integrity, committed to salvaging the association from widespread irregularities.
“We are independent-minded individuals, not swayed by sentiments or emotions.
“We are doing this for the sake of the young footballers of this generation and generations yet unborn, so they may have a promising future in their careers.”
“The truth is that the present crop of FA leaders, over the past eight years, have shown little to no dedication or commitment to the development and promotion of football in Ondo State.
“Under their watch, our two teams; Sunshine Queens and Sunshine Stars, have performed poorly.
Sunshine Queens were relegated to the lower divisions, while Sunshine Stars FC have been battling relegation for the past five years.
The FA has done nothing to address this worsening situation. We have now received reports that the club has been demoted to the NNL.
“Why do we have a lame-duck FA that cannot salvage the club?” he concluded.
