Some members of the Kwara State FA have protested their disqualification from the upcoming local football council elections, which will hold March 21, The PUNCH reports.

Following the order of the Nigeria Football Federation to state football associations to conduct elections into their respective local football councils as a prelude to the state elections, the Kwara FA constituted a committee headed by a former chairman, Saliu Ojibara.

However, four local councils — Asa, Ifelodun, Ilorin West and Moro — were allegedly prevented from the process due to non-payment of affiliation fees as well as incomplete electorate list, meaning that every aspirant from the local councils could not take part in the elections.

As a result, interim committees were sworn in on Sunday to take charge of the local councils and ensure all conditions for elections were met in 30 days, while elections into the other local councils would go on as scheduled.

One of the affected aspirants, who is currently the caretaker Chairman of Ilorin West Local Council, Yahaya Yar’adua, claimed he wasn’t aware of such payment.

“It’s not up to a year that I’ve been in charge and the FA had not written to us about such before until the election. In fact, we were not even told during the screening, we just read it on the group chat after we had gone for screening that our local football councils won’t participate in the elections,” Yar’adua said.

Another affected aspirant from Asa local council, Ibraheem Ajao, noted that the moves were all schemes of the current Kwara FA chairman to ensure his return for a second term.

“All the four local councils that are affected are the ones the chairman knows won’t support his second term.”

Chairman of the electoral committee, Saliu Ojibara, noted that the body followed the electoral guidelines during the process that led to the disqualification of the councils.

“This is the first time we are having local council elections and we are applying the electoral guidelines which is available for all the members. There are still room for them to regularise and fulfil their conditions, but if they can’t do that within the stipulated time, a bye-election will be conducted after this.”