I have been duly elected as Chairman - Chief Effiong Johnson

Following the outcome of Saturday,  February 28, 2015 elections into the  Akwa Ibom State Football Association, the winner to the office of Chairman, Chief Effiong Johnson has stated that his victory followed every due process as laid down by the statutes of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and he remains the Chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Football Association.

Addressing newsmen in Oron, Chief Effiong Johnson, whose victory at the polls with 23 votes earned him a landslide victory and second term in office said that the Akwa Ibom State Football Association did not receive any information that elections should not hold on the scheduled date of February 28, 2015 but only received the information on Monday, March 2, 2015, two clear days after his victory through his e-mail address.

 He said that every process towards the election of the new board was given full approval by the Nigeria Football Federation as the state electoral body led by Dr. Christopher Ekong conducted a very credible and transparent election.

Chief Effiong Johnson stated that the State Football Association before the election had received a letter of approval on the process leading to the election in the state dated January 20, 2015 and signed by Tunde Aderibigbe on behalf of the General Secretary of the NFF lauding the compliance of the state committee in the electoral process and approved all processes laid down for the election.

He said that another directive by Tunde Aderibigbe on February 13, 2015 to ensure that elections were conducted on February 28, 2015 was also received by the Akwa Ibom State Football Association.

He further said that every guideline leading to the conduct of the election including the date, venue and delegates was duly communicated to all relevant parties by the electoral committee without any protest(s) or appeal made by any individual(s) as the Secretary of the state electoral board, Matthew Peter had clearly outlined the guidelines on the conduct of the elections to every aspirant.

He said that the calculated attempt to discredit the election does not hold any iota of evidence as every legitimate step was taken and duly communicated with the Nigeria Football Federation to ensure a well-accepted, credible and transparent process as the overwhelming votes of his mandate shows his widespread acceptance to lead Akwa Ibom State football into a new era of progress, while he called on any person(s) who feels unfortunate about the outcome of the elections, to close ranks with his administration in building new milestones for Akwa Ibom State Football.

Chief Effiong Johnson further stated that the recent call for a cancelation of the elections was unjustified and that all relevant documents showing a well conducted, credible and transparent process had been forwarded to the Nigeria Football Federation and that his re-election has been widely accepted by all stakeholders in Akwa Ibom State.