When Ibrahim Musa Gusau, the Chairman of the Football Association Chairmen, entered the race for the presidency of the Nigeria Football Federation, he met with football stakeholders in Zamfara State to make it clear that he was running for the position in order to promote unity and the growth of the local league.
Gusau, who is also a member of the CAF organising committee and the chairman of the Zamfara State Football Association, added that if elected president of the NFF, all international footballers at all levels will be chosen based on merit, and he will focus on finding more talents throughout the nation.
At the 78th NFF Elective Congress, which took place in Benin, Edo State on Friday, Gusau was one of 11 contestants vying for the top post vacated by Amaju Melvin Pinnick at the expiration of his two-term tenure this September. In the running for the job were Abba Yola, the Chief of Staff to the Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Sunday Dare; Adam Mouktar Mohammed, the current chairman of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Football Association; Amanze Uchegbulam, the current chairman of the Imo State Football Association; Dr. Christian Emeruwa, a sports adminstration lecturer and David-Buhari Doherty, a football scout based in the United Kingdom.
The others were Idah Peterside, a former goalkeeper for Enyimba and pundit with Supersports; Musa Ahmadu, a former General Secretary of the NFF; Seyi Akinwunmi, the current 1st Vice President of the NFF; Shehu Dikko, the NFF’s 2nd Vice President and Chairman of the LMC; Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande, the vice chairman of Plateau State Football Association.
When the elections were through and the votes were tallied, Gusau received 21 votes, beating his closest rival, former first Vice President Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi, who received 12 votes, to emerge the next NFF President. Although Gusau did not receive the necessary 22 votes to win in the first round and there was the possibility of a rerun, the other candidates decided against participating in a rerun, effectively establishing Gusau’s victory.
Gusau, who is also a member of the CAF Organising Committee, was very much interested in the 10-year Football Development Masterplan approved by President Muhammadu Buhari, and promised that if elected as the NFF president, the plan will be implemented step by step to achieve the desired objectives. He had said: “We will see how we are going to implement the plan step by step as being said by the president for us to achieve our objectives and we will do our best in conjunction with other stakeholders to make sure that we implement it for the benefit of Nigerian football.”
The ball is literally now in his court and it till be beneficial to all football lovers and the status of the country if he keeps to the words of his promises.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
