Governing Bodies
Lulu, Ojo-Oba, Uchegbulam canvass for NFF’s flawless autonomy
Former chieftains of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Sani Lulu, Bolaji Ojo-Oba and Mazi Amanze Uchegbulam have called for unrestrained autonomy in the day-to-day administration of domestic football to deepen its development.
Speaking against the backdrop of their trial following the disputed Super Eagles funding for the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 as well as subsequent clearance for non-corruption and acquittal after eight years of litigation, the trio affirmed their exoneration should be documented for posterity.
“June 9 is like June 12 to us; I mean me as well as Lulu, Ojo-Oba and late Taiwo Ogunjobi,” Uchegbulam who was 1st Vice President under the Lulu-led NFF board, explained.
“Every June 9 is a day of victory for us and it’s about time we allow Nigerians and indeed the world to know that we were tried for no just cause because throughout the trial, no question regarding supposedly lost money and erroneously fed the public was asked.
“We were discharged and acquitted with no case submission after wrongly dragged before the court for almost ten years by petulant officials from the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.
Lulu noted that his tenure as the custodian of the game between 2006 and 2010 should go down as the best for its fiscal propriety even so after the nine-point corruption charges against the quartet were quashed by the court.
“With all modesty, our tenure at the NFF was the best in recent and I make bold to say that,” Lulu noted. “We inherited a debt of N300m from the Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima-led board but apart from clearing the debts; we left an impressive N2.8b in the coffers of NFF at the time we were forcefully removed from office on July 2010.”
Ojo-Oba who was the then NFF Secretary General noted that the ordeal they went through after the 2010 World Cup can be described as nothing but sheer wickedness.
“Frankly, our tenure deserved nothing but a gold medal but what we got was an unnecessary trial that dragged on for eight years but it’s a thing of joy that all the four of us were cleared and we wished Taiwo Ogunjobi is alive today for us to celebrate the uniqueness of June 9 in the history of Nigerian football,” noted the former Oyo State Sports Commissioner.
The president of the Confédération of African Football, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, has announced five new CAF Vice Presidents. They are:
- CAF First Vice President: Mr Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco)
- CAF Second Vice President: Mr Kurt Okraku (Ghana)
- CAF Third Vice President: Mr Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
- CAF Fourth Vice President: Ms Bestine Kazadi Ditabala (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- CAF Fifth Vice President: Mr Feizal Sidat (Mozambique)
In addition, the CAF President has co-opted Yacine Idriss Diallo, President of Fédération Ivoirienne de football, into the CAF Executive Committee.
The CAF Executive Committee also approved the names to fill vacant positions on several CAF Committees.
Organising Committee for the African Nations Championship (CHAN)
- President: Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
CAF Technical and Development Committee
- President: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
- Vice President: Malouche Belhassen (Tunisia)
CAF Medical Committee:
- President: Dr. Mohammed Bouya (Mauritania)
- Vice President: Dr. Thulani Ngwenya (South Africa)
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Governing Bodies
Nigeria becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council
Laurels on the courts and now glory in the boardroom sums up the mark that badminton is making in Nigeria.
The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), Francis Orbih, has been elected as a council member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
The election took place during the BWF Annual General Meeting on Saturday in Xiamen, China.
Orbih emerged victorious over top contenders from other African countries.
He will join Cameroon’s Odette Assembe Engoulou on the council, while Chipo Zumburani (Zimbabwe) and Hadia ElSaid (Egypt) missed out.
An elated Orbih expressed his gratitude to fellow badminton presidents across the globe for their trust and support.
He said, “I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me by my peers across the badminton world.
“I look forward to quality representation, driving development initiatives, and strengthening badminton’s global reach over the next four years.”
Orbih also acknowledged the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria, particularly the National Sports Commission (NSC), which he said played a significant role in his successful bid.
“The Chairman and the Director General of the NSC monitored the entire process. I’m grateful for their involvement and confident Nigeria will benefit from this,” he stated.
He further appreciated the BFN board members and the Nigerian badminton community for their prayers and continued belief in his leadership.
“From the day I declared my intentions, the board members of BFN have been supportive, and I promise not to disappoint them,” Orbih concluded.
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A former member of the FIFA Council, Mamoutou Toure, has been released from jail in Mali after almost two years in detention for alleged corruption, Malian media reports said on Wednesday.
Toure, president of the Malian Football Federation since 2019, was released after 622 days in prison on Tuesday.
He served on the FIFA Council, world football’s all-powerful decision-making body, for four years until last month when he lost his seat after failing to contest new elections.
The 67-year-old was arrested in August 2023 on allegations of embezzling $28 million of public funds but was granted a provisional release order by the Malian courts, reports said.
He was accused of misconduct during his time as the National Assembly’s financial and administrative director from 2013-2019.
Toure denied all charges and, during his time in jail, was last August re-elected as Malian Football Federation president for a second consecutive term, with his supporters claiming he was a victim of a conspiracy fuelled by detractors.
While in jail, he received a letter of support from FIFA president Gianni Infantino. However, as of last month, Toure is no longer a member of the FIFA Council or the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee.
-Reuters
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