The Chairman of the Imo State Football Association (Imo FA), Barrister Ifeanyi Dike, has constituted a three-man caretaker committee to oversee the affairs of the Heartland FC Columbia Supporters Club following the cancellation of the club’s chairmanship election held on Monday at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri.
Barrister Dike announced the decision shortly after reviewing reports from the election, which was marred by irregularities that rendered the outcome unacceptable to the Football Association and other stakeholders.
According to him, widespread allegations of over-voting and a blatant disregard for the guidelines governing the electoral process compromised the credibility of the exercise and made it impossible to uphold the result of the Chairmanship Election.
The caretaker committee is headed by Obinna Oparanozie, with Nice Uchegbu serving as Secretary and Ugochukwu Ohale as a member.
Inaugurating the committee, Dike charged its members to restore peace and stability within the supporters’ club through extensive consultations with stakeholders. He also directed 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 fresh date will be announced for a new chairmanship election.
The Imo FA chairman noted that while elections into the positions of Vice Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and Assistant Secretary were conducted successfully and their results announced without controversy, the chairmanship contest witnessed a sudden and questionable increase in the number of voters.
Before inaugurating the caretaker committee, Dike apologised to the people of Imo State and members of the football community for what he described as an unfortunate development.
He expressed disappointment over the conduct of the election, insisting that the events of the day reinforced the need for an interim administration to address the underlying issues threatening the unity and credibility of the Heartland FC Columbia Supporters’ Club.
The disputed chairmanship election featured Chidera Orisakwe and Onyekachi Egbujor, popularly known as “Black,” as contestants. The electoral committee was chaired by Ikenna Egbujor, also known as “Agwor,” who is a brother to one of the candidates, a situation that generated concerns among some stakeholders.
Monday’s exercise was meant to resolve a leadership vacuum after an earlier attempt to elect a substantive chairman ended inconclusively. However, the rescheduled election again failed to produce an acceptable outcome, leading the Imo FA to intervene with the appointment of the caretaker committee.
