NFF divided over Pinnick’s decision to run for CAF position

Forum 7 years ago

NFF divided over Pinnick’s decision to run for CAF position

There is confusion in the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, over decision by the President of the body, Amaju Pinnick to run for a seat in the Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football, CAF.

Pinnick had during the week picked a form to contest for a position to be a CAF executive member.

Technical Committee Chairman of the NFF, Barrister Chris Green, told journalists in Port Harcourt that other members of the Executive Committee of the NFF, received Amaju’s plan to contest for a CAF Executive Committee seat with shock as it was not discussed at any of their meetings as has been the case in the past.

Green said, “How come no member is aware, even as we know that some lilly-livered members will say otherwise? We must be careful not to put the cart before the horse

“When Alhaji Aminu Maigari wanted to contest, he was cleared by the federation, the Sports Ministry vide the Federal Government, the same process was also applied when Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima wanted a seat in CAF, pronto for Dr Amos Adamu.

“Even when Chief Segun Odegbami and Dr Orji Uzor sought to contest FIFA seat they passed through similar processes, so nobody is permitted to jump the gun.”

Green said he had embarked on a wide consultation and members of the NFF were unanimous that at a time like this, when the body was in dire financial straits, what they needed was not politics to develop African football but politics to make Nigerian football self sufficient and well funded.

He added, “We cannot let one of our best brains if not the best to go and serve CAF when we need him here back home to make our system better than we met it.

“Moreover, we are cruising now in the bid to be at the Russia 2018 World Cup and we must be united to avoid unnecessary distortion from outsiders.

“We cannot be undermined and in some of these cases, the government might through us decide to draft an outsider as Nigeria’s candidate and we must follow suit, so I will advise that we thread softly.”