By Paul Nicholson
April 9 – FIFA general secretary Fatma Samoura has stepped into to the Liberian FA (LFA) election dispute asking general secretary Emmanuel Deah for a report on the allegations of rule breaking. Samoura has asked for the report to be delivered by April 9.
Samoura’s letter refers to “complaints about alleged breaches of the LFA statutes with regard to the LFA electoral process” made by LFA executive committee member Rochell Woodson. Woodson has said she would stand as a candidate in the election but not until the LFA followed its own rules and stopped the behind-the-scenes manipulation of the election process.
In her complaint Woodson outlined five clear statutes breaches by the election committee, as well as various irregularities. The statutes breaches include reducing the number of qualified proposers in order to stand for election, changing of the ages and qualifications required to stand for election, and not giving the full time required to prepare for the election.
She also says that electoral information regarding who is standing and the actual voting process is not transparent or clear.
Woodson has previously called on FIFA to release detail of the financial audit carried out by the governing body last December that she says will provide a strong an integrity check for those standing for election.
Specifically Woodson points to the role of current LFA president Musa Bility in the election process despite his not contesting the election nor his official presence on the electoral committee.
Woodson says that Bility is manipulating the election process to get his preferred candidate elected – Musa Shannon who has previously admitted to taking a share of $50,000 of Ebola relief money sent to the LFA by FIFA.
She says that two members of the electoral committee have clear conflicts of interest. Cllr Arthur Johnson and Cllr. Hadji Sesay, are both retained counsels of Bility while Johnson also serves on the board of his football team.
“During his press conference on March 16, 2018, rather, than the Elections Committee, Mr. Bility provided elections update and insisted that the elections will go on in the midst of all these violations. We see his action as gross manipulation and influence in the elections process, circumventing the intent and spirit of the LFA Statutes,” said Woodson.
Samoura asks for the report “in order to allow us to better assess the situation”. With the election scheduled for the end of April, FIFA will want to move fast. The prospect of FIFA having to step in more actively in Liberia is now looking increasingly likely – especially when the current allegations are taken in conjunction with the suspected contents of the December audit report.
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