March 29, 2021
By:Ilyasa Baa
Former Chairman, Sierra Leone Premier League Board, Rodney Michael (Esq) has said he would appeal against the decision taken against him by the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) Electoral Committee. Michael is one of the candidates disqualified him from contesting the SLFA presidential election.
Mr. Michael described the press release as disappointing, stating that the Committee went beyond their mandate and he has insisted that he has not been default of any condition whatsoever.
“My legal team is studying the merit of the case as we have the right to appeal within four days as provided for in the 2012 Electoral code, ’’ Michael states.
He pointed out that the Committee, in spite of having two lawyers, went beyond its mandate by making inappropriate decision to get him out of the race.
He noted that they are going to make use of the local structures and use legal means to fight back. He added that in the press release, there are no justifications for his disqualification, disclosing that his lawyers have written to the Electoral Committee demanding for justification regarding the Committee’s decision.
He expressed his dissatisfaction that the committee’s reply to their letter was that they should be given two weeks for them to release their justification for the action taken by the Electoral Committee.
The Ethics Committee in 2014 exonerated Rodney Michael after he and fourteen other football stakeholders suffered suspension pending the investigation that cleared his name.
The Electoral Committee had disqualified Rodney from contesting in the election but the SLFA’s Appeals Committee overturned the decision of the Electoral Committee by insisting on having Rodney on the ballot paper.
The former government dissolved that Electoral Committee and formed a Normalization Committee comprising APC members.
It could be recalled that the Sports Ambassador to the country, Junior Bio had called for sanity within the football family insisting that there should be a level playfield and fair play by the SLFA regarding the election.