Maintain tempo,NRA charges NPFL referees

Members of the Nigeria Referees Association, NRA involved in recently matches across the centres have been urged to abide by the tenets of good officiating.

NRA President, Otunba Tade Azeez told National Daily that match officials as part of programs designed to ensure referees do not lose focus of the desire of the association to maintain a clean state this season.

According to Tade, the brief break caused by the general elections shouldn’t make referees forgot the target to be free and fair in all matches. He charged them to rejig the strength, wisdom and knowledge of the game for good officiating at all times.

In today’s encounter in Akure; Sunshine Stars vs Enyimba International, one of the African international referees and Nigeria’s FIFA Salisu Basheer of Kano State Referees Council will be the cynosure of all eyes as he takes charge of the game being part of his dress rehearsal matches before he leaves the shores of the country for Morocco, venue of the CAF Championship. Basheer will be assisted on the lines by Fifas Samuel Pwadutakam of Adamawa and Edo state’s Efosa Celestine Igudia to be assessed by the newly elected Secretary General, Dr Suleiman Omezia.

In Katsina, Katsina Utd vs Kwara Utd, Asaba based lawyer of the Delta State council, Barr Ovie Bordor get the assistance of Auwal U and Nwandu O of the Gombe and Imo State councils respectively while other FIFA referees Quadri Adebimpe and Abel Baba are involved on the Heartland vs Akwa United in Okigwe area of Imo State.

Army officer, Col Fawole, Fifa, will rely on the assistance of co FIFA referees to handle the North East derby in Maiduguri Elkanemi vs Gombe United.