Idris Abdullahi declares intention to contest for second term as Kwara State FA boss

By Wale Mustapha

Executive Chairman of Kwara State Football Association, Mallam Idris Abdullahi has indicated interess to run for second term in office.

‘Thuraya’ as he is fondly called made the declaration in Ilorin on Thursday when received newly elected executive members of Kwara State chapter of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria led by its chairman,  Ayodeji Ismail.

“I will contest for the Chairmanship and will give everyone the right to obtain the form at the secretariat. I will do it clearly the way my election was done four years ago, including the local government,” Abdullahi told media.

“For the Chairmanship of the Kwara Football Association, the elections will come up in June and I want to assure you that every single post will be elective; everyone will be elected into his or her position including my position.

“People should be aware that I am going to conduct elections and strictly follow the status of NFF without fear or favour fulfilling all the criteria of elections.”

The Chairman of Kwara State Football Association also used the medium to announced that elections will be conducted into local government football councils in Kwara State before the end of March 2023.

“The elections we should be talking about right now are the local government football councils and their affiliates,” he continued.

“The Football Association has received a directive from Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to conduct the local government elections; their tenure expired six months ago but I had a genuine excuse for their tenure extension.

My excuses were due to the  COVID-19 pandemic (a force majeure which is in the NFF status) and the crisis that rocked the NFF last year.

“You will all agree with me that there were no football activities during the COVID-19 and the NFF leadership saga crippled some football activities. Now that there is stability in the NFF, they have written us a letter on the need to conduct an election. I have also been directed to dissolve all the committee and executives but I can still defend it.”

“The board members of Kwara Football Association have sat down and discussed it. Some local government Chairmen do not want us to conduct elections; they want it to be by selection and I said clearly that there must be an election because the Chairman came through the election.

“If election is what brought me here, elections must be conducted for everybody. We have agreed and are following the directive of the NFF. The last directive I received was that all the local governments should converge in Ilorin and elections should be conducted for them.

“For every executive board (Chairman, Vice Chairman and board members all have four years in the status). You cannot conduct their election before or after the expiration of their time; because it can be challenged in the court of law,” he said.