Akinwunmi Steps Down as Lagos FA Chairman After 12 Years
Duro Ikhazuagbe
After 12 years in the saddle, the immediate past 1st Vice President of the the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi, yesterday formally
stepped down as Chairman of Lagos State Football Association (LSFA).
At a media parley inside the Board room of the LSFA secretariat on Ogunlana Drive in Surulere, Akinwunmi said his decision to step down was to take effect last January but because it was in the middle of the state’s FA Cup, he decided to tarry awhile. He insisted his leaving in January would have given wrong signal to sponsors and stakeholders.
“I have called for this interaction and I’m here to tell you that I’m stepping down after 12 years and three months of being at the helms of affairs as Chairman of Lagos State Football Association,” began the senior lawyer.
“It’s been a wonderful 12 years which honestly, have been a fulfillment of my dreams. I have resigned as LSFA chairman; I was not pushed out but leaving on my own volition. There is no subterfuge of any kind.
Akinwunmi who as driver of Ekofootball, made development of the game at the grassroots a priority. Capacity building of kids of diverse background made him the toast of stakeholders in the game in the state and the western sub region.
“I’d planned that I would not stay longer than these 12 years but I’m not leaving football because football is part of my life; and I can guarantee that henceforth in every quarter you’ll see something that would make me call all of you together,” he further stressed.
He was first elected in 2011 and made Ekofootball to be synonymous with the best youth development programme and the most vibrant women’s football ecosystem in the country amongst many other developmental initiatives.
The outgoing chairman however admitted that his 12-year tenure were not without challenges but was able to succeed through painstaking efforts, patience and humility,
He therefore urge his successor to imbibe same ethos in order to keep the flag of the LSFA flying.
While dismissing speculation in a section of the media that he was stepping down from the Lagos FA post in order to head the Nigeria Premier Football league(NPFL), Akinwunmi insisted that he was eminently qualified for any post in football in the country after serving in various capacities in the past.
“The NPFL is not my aspiration,” he said assuredly. “I have heard the speculations about the LMC post but the truth is that you don’t make plans for what does not exist because there’s no rule as to how the head of the league body is going to be appointed. But if you look around, I’m eminently qualified and probably more than most. How many people had been legal adviser to the NFF, State FA Chairman, Zonal Coordinator, league board member, Chairman of the Nigeria National League, Vice President of NFF. I don’t think there’s anybody in Nigeria that have all that qualifications,” concludes Akinwunmi even as he revealed he would be available to offer his expert opinion on football matters.
