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The President of the Imo State Football Association (Imo FA), Barrister Ifeanyi Dike, has constituted a three-man committee to oversee the affairs of the Heartland FC Columbia Supporters Club following the cancellation of the club’s chairmanship elections held at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri on Monday.
Lawyer Dike announced the decision shortly after reviewing reports of the election, which was marred by irregularities that made the result unacceptable to the Football Association and other stakeholders.
According to him, widespread accusations of overvoting and blatant disregard for the guidelines governing the electoral process have undermined the credibility of the exercise and made it impossible to support the outcome of the presidential election.
The interim committee is led by Obinna Oparanozie, with Nice Uchegbu as secretary and Ugochukwu Ohale as member.
Inaugurating the committee, Dike charged its members to restore peace and stability within the supporters club through extensive consultations with stakeholders. He also called on them to compile a comprehensive register of genuine members to prevent infiltration by non-members and ensure the integrity of future electoral processes.
The committee will oversee the affairs of the Heartland FC Columbia Supporters Club for a two-month period, from June 22 to August 22, 2026, after which a new date for a new presidency election will be announced.
The Imo FA President noted that while the elections for the positions of Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and Assistant Secretary were held successfully and their results were announced without controversy, the contest for the presidency saw a sudden and questionable increase in the number of voters.
Before inaugurating the technical committee, Dike apologized to the people of Imo State and members of the football community for what he described as an unfortunate development.
He expressed disappointment in the conduct of the election, insisting that the day’s events reinforced the need for an interim administration to address underlying issues that threaten the unity and credibility of the Heartland FC Columbia Supporters’ Club.
The disputed presidential election featured Chidera Orisakwe and Onyekachi Egbujor, popularly known as “Blacks”, as contestants. The election committee was chaired by Ikenna Egbujor, also known as “Agwor”, brother of one of the candidates, a situation which raised concern among some stakeholders.
Monday’s exercise was intended to address a leadership vacuum after an earlier attempt to elect a substantive president ended unsuccessfully. However, the rescheduled elections once again failed to produce an acceptable result, leading the Imo FA to intervene with the appointment of the interim committee.
