The Sierra Leone Parliament has on Friday in a meeting at Committee Room 1, has admonished SLFA to go ahead with its electoral activities after exhausting all grievance resolution mechanisms in the ongoing electoral process.
The Parliamentary Oversight Committee proffered the advice in the run up to the February 26-27 elective congress to take place in Makeni, northern province of Sierra Leone.
It could be recalled that after the completion of the nomination process on January 8, 2021, Mohamed Kallon and seven others were disqualified from the process because according to the electoral committee Chairman Dr. O. Rubin-Coker, they did not meet the requirement and could not contest. After a meeting with members of the FA including top government officials in parliament on Friday, the Committee issued a four-point statement to quell the controversy following Kallon’s disqualification.
The release issued by the country’s parliament has called on the Sports Ministry and the National Sports Authority to further engage all “stakeholders” and send a written plan to them for a successful resolution of the current “impasse” to the Committee.
Mohamed Kallon and others after missing out on nomination, unsuccessfully appeal the Appeals Committee.
The release further stated that after they would have meet with the Ministry of Sports and National Sports Authority, Parliament oversight committee will meet with members on Wednesday February 10th, 2021.
Although the Parliamentary Sports Committee has however not taken any position to infringe on the autonomy of the Football Association, and influence the electoral process, there are fears that the Committee’s mediation could be interpreted by FIFA as political interference which could lead to a global ban by the world football body.
Sierra Leone was banned by FIFA in 2018 after the Anti-Corruption Commission raided and closed the FA’s offices following allegations of corruption against incumbent Isha Johansen and Secretary-general Chris Kamara.
Both were later acquitted of corruption charges.
By Desmond Tunde Coker
10/02/2021. ISSUE NO: 7999