Alhaji Umaru Isah, the Team Manager of Lokoja FC, has been elected as the new chairman of the Kogi State Football Association until 2018.
In elections conducted in Lokoja on Friday and supervised by member of the Nigeria Football Association Executive Committee and Chairman of the NFF Referees Committee, Alhaji Yusuf Ahmed Fresh, Isah pulled 11 of the 16 votes cast.
Runners-up, Hon. Hassan Yusuf, scored five votes, while the third chairmanship aspirant, Mohammed Ibrahim, withdrew from the contest on the Congress floor.
The emergence of Isah, who hails from the Kogi West Senatorial District, as the chairman saw vice chairmanship aspirant, Shina Akande, from the same district, disqualified, leaving Hassan Wada unopposed but still had to satisfy the statutory requirement of two-third ‘yes’ vote of the delegates.
In the event, Wada won with 14 of the 16 votes cast by the eligible delegates, to serve as the vice chairman for the next four years.
Members elected into the new board from Kogi Central Senatorial District were Prince Daomi George, Shogodo Ahmed and Stephen Bello after the former team manager of Confluence Queens, Owolabi David, withdrew from the contest.
From Kogi East Senatorial District: Chairman of Oguche Babes, Chief Peter Oguche; and Team Manager of Kogi United, Ameh Henry, while Abiodun Olawale and Alhaji Dan Usman from Western district complete the nine-man new executive board.
Meanwhile, Isah has pledged his executive board’s resolve to develop the game by encouraging grassroots football in the state.
He dedicated his victory at the polls to God, promising his board will make concerted efforts to improve the face of football in the state.
He promised that his leadership will run an all-inclusive football administration urging all stakeholders to support his board to take the game to the next level.
“I’m very excited and I thank God for making it possible to emerge as the newly elected FA chairman. With this achievement and what we have been doing before, we just redouble our efforts and ensure we take football from where it is now to greater height in the state,” Isah told newsmen.
He added: “We just have to go back to the grassroots, encourage school sports [football] and organise tournaments like governor’s cup, chairmanship cup and with that sky will be our limit. We will collaborate with the NFF and the Referees council in the state to develop the game.
“Like I said in my inaugural speech, there are so many jobs because we can’t do alone we will need the stakeholders to bring their wealth of experience to the bear so that we can achieve more than we had already.”