Just In : Lagos FA board impeaches Oki, names Gafar new chairman
The board members of the Lagos State Football Association, at its General Assembly held on Saturday, impeached their chairman Fouad Oki and voted Gafar Liameed as the new chairman of the state FA, Sunday PUNCH reports.
In a counter move, however, Oki told Sunday PUNCH he remained the chairman of the embattled association.
The board issued a vote of no confidence on Oki after he was voted out by 12 out of the 14 members of the congress following allegations against him, including maladministration, high-handedness, corruption and fraudulent practices.
Oki was also accused of single handedly and unilaterally changing the existing statutes of the Lagos FA to the detriment of the game in the state.
He was charged with taking football matters in Lagos State to the Lagos High Court, an action which contravenes global football best practices.
The General Assembly had in attendance Nigeria Football Federation 1st Vice-President Felix Anyansi-Agwu, Chairman Associations Mallam Sani Ali, ex-international player and former Lagos FA boss Waidi Akanni and Special Assistant to Minister for Sports Development on Grassroots Sports Development Adeyinka Adeboye.
Amongst several accusations levelled against Oki, is the illegal withdrawal of over N40m from the FA accounts.
The congress, after due process, declared Oki impeached and immediately voted Gafar as the new chairman of the state FA.
In his acceptance speech, Gafar described his new position as a call to service.
“This is a huge task, but I want to assure you all that together we’ll bring back the glorious days of football in Lagos State,” Gafar said.
“It won’t be business as usual, but football business as normal. Together, we’ll work to ensure that Lagos State is not left behind in football matters.”
Sunday PUNCH had reported in October 2023 that the Lagos FA board had suspended Oki for gross misconduct by a simple majority of five to four.
On his part, Oki said he never illegally withdrew over N40m as alleged by the board members, insisting he was still in charge of the state football body.
He said, “Last year you’ll recall the saga but well-meaning stakeholders intervened. Later he (Gafar) sent petitions to 16 agencies, including the EFCC and DSS alleging that I’m defrauding the FA, that I stole over N40m.
“The question is where did the FA get such amount? When I became chairman, all I met in the kitty was N750,000. I resumed 24th of May and I had to pay salary of N720,000 by the end of May. So, whatever we made was money from me and friends, we don’t get money from the government. We are expected to raise our funds.
“Having sent petitions to these agencies, why don’t you wait for the conclusion of their investigations
