Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has congratulated the newly elected president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr. Amaju Pinnick describing it as a continuation of Delta’s supremacy in sports.
According to him, the victory of Pinnick at the NFF polls held on Tuesday, September 30, 2014 in Warri, further reinforced our belief that the administration’s investment in sports was not in vain.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sunny Ogefere, the Governor said that the new NFF president has maintained the sports excellence tradition for which the state is known.
He noted that under Amaju’s leadership of sports, the State has retained as well as improved on its dominance of sports in the country.
“Amaju has shown traits of commitment, resourcefulness, dedication and leadership right from when he joined the DFA (Delta Football Association) as a member and later as chairman of the Association up to when he emerged as the chairman of the State Sports Commission”, he stated.
“Besides, Amaju has performed creditably well to date and I have no doubt in my mind that he will excel in this new assignment and take football in Nigeria to an enviable height”.
Uduaghan urged Amaju to remain focused in the new assignment and ensure as a matter of priority that he reconciled everyone to forge one united front for better success.
Recall that the Chairman, Delta State Sports Commission, Mr. Amaju Pinnick, on Teusday, in Warri, Delta State, emerged the winner of the NFF presidential election.
Pinnick won 32 votes of the 44-man congress after a re-run to beat Taiwo Ogunjobi who had four votes and Iorfa eight votes.
The first round of the polls saw Pinnick have 25 votes, Taiwo Ogunjobi nine votes and Dominic Iorfa got four votes and resulting in a re-run because Pinnick did not have two-third of the votes cast the first time.
In the first ballot, Chief Ogunjobi had scored nine votes while Dominic Iorfa recorded six votes.
Chief Amanze Uchegbulam had recorded four votes while both Abba Yola and Chief Mike Umeh recorded no votes. This paved the way for the three top contestants to go into the run-off.
The chairman of the electoral committee, Samson Ebonhe had explained that the Electoral Guideline stipulated that for a presidential candidate to be declared as winner he must score at least two third of the total votes cast. He said that a winner in the first ballot must at least score 29 votes out of the 44 delegates.
Pinnick has succeeded Aminu Maigari, who stepped down after a lingering leadership tussle.
He is now faced with an upbeat task to decide on the future of Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi, whose contract is yet to be decided despite his handling the Super Eagles in two 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers earlier this month.
Football analysts say Pinnick is expected to during his four-year term improve the finances of the often cash-strapped NFF.
The new NFF President, Melvin Pinnick Amaju, in his speech promised to reach out to all aggrieved football stakeholders and bring them under one umbrella for the betterment of Nigerian football.
“I’ll go and beg Chris Giwa, Dominic Iorfa, Taiwo OgunJobI, Amanze Uchegbulam, Abba Yola. We can only move forward when there is unity.
My election is a divine one. I never bargained to be President. They wanted to make me Chairman of the Electoral body. Today, I thank all Nigerians and dedicate this victory to late Patrick Okpomo who tutored me. He wanted to be President of the Nigerian Football but never got it. Now, I’ve it and will give it my best”, he said shedding tears of joy.
