Despite what many Nigerians consider very poor performance by the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, under Amaju Pinnick, the latter has been nominated for an African position.
The General Assembly of the NFF on Sunday in Lagos endorsed the candidature of Mr. Pinnick for election into the CAF Executive Committee.
The 72nd Annual General Assembly of the NFF held at the Best Western Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Sunday.
According to a communiqué released by Ademola Olajire, the NFF spokesman, “the Congress passed a Vote of Confidence on the NFF Executive Committee.
“It also endorsed the candidature of NFF President, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick for election into the CAF Executive Committee at the CAF Congress in Addis Ababa in March 2017.
“Congress called on all Nigerians to give him total support as it is not an NFF venture, but a Nigerian Project,” it said.
Mr. Pinnick and the NFF leadership have been criticised for their management of Nigerian football which worsened last week with the protest by the Super Falcons.
The Nigerian female national team emerged African champions in Cameroon despite not being paid their allowances.
Their protest last Wednesday to the National Assembly forced President Buhari to order release of funds to pay the ladies.
In their communique on Sunday, the NFF Congress commended President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government for the action taken to pay the players and officials of the Super Falcons their entitlements.
The Super Falcons were crowned champions of the 10th Women Africa Cup of Nations Finals in Cameroon.
The Communique also noted that the General Assembly endorsed the new boards of the Nigeria National League (NNL) and the Nigeria Nationwide League (NNWL) as constituted by a Selection Committee.
It said the boards of the two leagues were immediately sworn in.
It said the Congress also resolved as follows:
“In order for Nigeria Football to align itself with the FIFA Integrity Initiative, Congress adopted the NFF National Integrity Initiative Strategy, as proposed by the NFF Integrity Unit.
“General Assembly also adopted the Disciplinary and Ethics Code of the Nigeria Football Federation as proposed by the Executive Committee.”
The Congress expressed satisfaction with the explanation provided by the Executive Committee on a number of issues raised by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung at the opening ceremony.
It noted that the issues were on division within the Board, FIFA Audit Query and late submission of memos.
It submitted that the minister was misinformed about the activities of the Board.
“Congress noted the submission of the Executive Committee stating that at no time previously (official or unofficially) did the Minister raise these issues with the NFF leadership to obtain clarification.
It added that the Federation would have gladly provided clarifications just as it did to the House Committee on Sports during a recent sitting on its budget performance and budget proposal.
“Indeed, the audited account of the Federation for the year, as audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, an internationally reputable audit firm, was presented and adopted at the General Assembly.
“General Assembly empowered the NFF Executive Committee to provide detailed explanation to the Office of the Honourable Minister on all the issues raised.
“It also empowered it to publish them as a matter of public records, for the avoidance of doubt and for information of the general public, NFF partners and sponsors,” it said.
The Communique said that the Chairman, House Committee on Sports praised the leadership of the NFF for various achievements recorded during the period.
He also urged them to remain focused to ensure Super Eagles qualification for 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The Congress expressed appreciation to the Lagos State Government and the Local Organising Committee for the successful hosting of the Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations staged by Nigeria from December 13 – 18.
The body also thanked the Secretary General of FIFA, Fatma Samoura. for attending the championship.
The Communique added that Congress elected Musa Duhu, Chairman of Adamawa State Football Association, to join the NFF Executive Committee from the north-east geo-political zone.
The vacancy was created with the demise of Hussaini Modibbo, member from that zone.
“Duhu was the only candidate for the seat and was declared “worthy and credible” by the NFF Electoral Committee,” it said.