I'm Disappointed With Ikeja DFA Poll

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 Rafiu Alabi Taiwo is the Chief Coach of LSDPC Football Club. Taiwo, who has spent 29 years in coaching spoke with SUNDAY AKINTOYE about his team’s promotion to the National Amateur Division 3 and how he lost the recent held Ikeja Divisional Football Association’s elections in Lagos

 

Your team gained promotion to National Amateur Division 3, how do you feel?

I feel happy because nobody gave us a chance when we were going to Owerri for the league playoffs. We did not lose a match in the playoffs, we only drew 1-1 with a team from Ebonyi State in our first game. We defeated a team from Akwa Ibom 3-0 and beat a team from Ondo 2-0 in our last game to become the overall winners in the zone.

You lost out in the Ikeja Divisional Football Association’s elections held recently at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, what is your take on this?

The result came to me as a surprise because I was robbed at the elections. There was no election because the so-called elected chairman of Ikeja Divisional Football Association IDFA, Dele Gbajumo, did not pass through screening and he did not show interest initially.

How do you know that Gbajumo did not show interest initially?

Don’t forget that coaches, referees and club owners in my division endorsed me as the chairman before the election day. The Secretary of Ikeja Divisional Football, Akeem Okikioposu, announced the candidature of Dele Gbajumo in the day of the election and he won. He defeated me by two votes . I came to realise that some of the people that voted that day were not supposed to vote. Everything was done in foavour of GbajumoThose who were legible participated in the election just for him to win at all cost.

We were told that your absence in the day of elections contributed to your defeat, where did you go?

I was the only candidate that was screened for the chairmanship position two days to the election and I was assured by a member of electoral committee, Okunnu, that I don’t have problem as the only candidate. With this assurance, I had to go back to Owerri. It was in Owerri they called me on phone that I lost to Gbajumo.

What action do you plan to take now?

I am calling for the cancellation of the election because the way and manner the election was conducted was not in accordance with the electoral guideline. I have written a protest letter to the Lagos State football Association and copied the Lagos State Sports Council, Office of the commissioner for Sports and Office of the Chief of Staff to the Governor because we cannot continue to do wrong things always.

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