If the plots against the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, sees the light of the day, the Delta State-born administrator may not secure a return to the Confederation of African Football Executive Committee.
Pinnick spearheaded the movement that broke the stranglehold of former CAF boss Issa Hayatou and brought in Ahmad Ahmad as the new helmsman of African football.
And in the process – of course, as a reward – the Nigerian football chief secured a seat in the continental football executive committee.
Pinnick’s automatic rise in global football went a notch higher when he was nominated by Ahmad as CAF 1st vice president.
However, less than four years after that rise, Pinnick may just start fizzling away from football administration in the continental when elections into the Executive Committee take place on March 12, 2021 in Rabat, Morocco.
The Nigerian is eligible to seek re-election next year but his former ally whom he helped to power in the last elections, Ahmad, is now hatching a plot that will deny Pinnick a return to the continental body according to report.
A source close to the NFF boss revealed that: “Ahmad distrusted Pinnick for faintly coming forward as his successor when the CAF head was going through scrutiny for corruption.
“Although Pinnick denied the media campaign suggesting he was warming up to take over, Ahmad never believed him and that was why he stripped him of all the privileges including the deputy slot.
“Pinnick has tried to make overtures to Ahmad but the Malagasy deeply distrusted the Nigerian and he is now doing so much to make sure that Pinnick does not even return to CAF as executive committee member.”
Aside from the position of the president, three other executive seats are up for grabs.
They are Western Africa Zone B currently occupied by Pinnick, Northern African Zone held by Faozi Lekjaa and Southern African zone held by Danny Jordaan.
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“Ahmad is sponsoring another candidate for Western Zone B so as to stop Pinnick from coming back. The matter has become worsened as it is believed that Pinnick is also nursing ambition to run against Ahmad for the CAF presidency,” another source said.
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago
