Governing Bodies
Video: Rescuer of Nigeria from FIFA ban, Vice President Osinbajo throws hat in the ring
After months of speculations, Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, a professor of law, this Monday finally declared his intention to contest for the presidency of Nigeria.
He was the acting president in 2018 when he deftly stepped into the crisis within the NFF and averted a looming FIFA ban on Nigeria.
In a tweet on Monday, Osinbajo is seeking the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) ticket to run for the presidency in February next year.
Political parties in Nigeria should pick presidential candidates by June 3. Official campaigning will begin in September, according to the country’s electoral commission.
With Buhari set to step down after serving two four-year terms, the Feb. 23, 2023 ballot is expected to be a hotly contested affair.
“I am today, with utmost humility formally declaring my intention to run for the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the platform of APC,” Osinbajo said, ending months of speculation.
Supporters tout Osinbajo as a safe pair of hands who would provide stability and pursue a more liberal economic policy, including easing of forex rules. He has previously criticised the central bank for maintaining foreign currency controls.
But he may find it difficult to distance himself from the policies of his boss Buhari, who critics accuse of racking up huge national debts and failing to end an Islamist insurgency in the northeast and kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs in the northwest.
A deputy to Buhari since 2015, Osinbajo, a 61-year-old law professor and southern Christian pastor, has to fend off a challenge from Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a southern Muslim and wealthy power broker and former governor of Lagos state, the commercial engine of Africa’s biggest economy.
Osinbajo served as Lagos justice commissioner and attorney general under Tinubu from 1999 to 2007.
Osinbajo also lacks a political base of his own and would need to build a strong coalition of supporters with deep pockets to take on the political machinery of Tinubu, who helped campaign and deliver victory to Buhari during elections in 2015 and 2019.
Buhari has not said whether he will support either Osinbajo or Tinubu
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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