Sports
Ebonyi FA Election: Ministry Sets Up Committee To Probe Contestants
The Ebonyi State Ministry of Sports and Youth Development, has set-up a 5-man committee to probe the emergence of Sen. Obinna Ogba, representing Ebonyi Central, and other contestants for the state Football Association (FA) elections.
Tidesports source reports that the June 1 election, has been shrouded in controversy over the alleged monopolisation of the process by Ogba, who is the incumbent chairman and the Senate Committee Chairman on Sports.
Ogba according to sports ministry sources, has occupied the seat for more than 10 years.
The Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Mr Charlse Akpuenika, who inaugurated the committee, expressed dismay that he and other state’s sports stakeholders were not aware of the processes which led to the emergence of delegates and other activities concerning the election.
”The committee will be headed by the ministry’s new Permanent Secretary, Mr Jonathan Okoronkwo and is empowered to invite Ogba and other contestants to the next meeting of sports stakeholders in the state.
”The committee should review and brief the stakeholders, the processes used in electing delegates who will vote in the elections as none of the stakeholders is aware of the process.
”You must conclude this assignment within 48 hours and reconvene a meeting of the stakeholders where all the contestants and delegates should be present.
”None of the contestants is above the state ministry and anyone who wants to prove so will be told that no one is above the ministry,” he said.
He said that the ministry will seek a postponement of the election from the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) if all contending issues were not settled, adding that the state FA is not a one-man affair.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor
