Re-elected Pinnick promises more focus on youth soccer
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fresh edged it 22-21 and ishola was then re-instated to challenge yahaya-kwande for the remaining slot from north central. in the event yahaya-kwande won by 28 votes to 141 amaju pinnick the re-elected president of the nigeria football federation nff on thursday promised to focus more on youth programmes adding that football was the winner at the end of the polls in katsina1 pinnick swept aside three other contestants polling 34 votes to second placed aminu maigaris 8 with former international taiwo ogunjobi getting only 2 votes while there was none for club owner chinedu okoye1 a statement by ademola olajire the nffs director of communication said pinnick pledged to focus even harder on youth development programmes in his second tenure1 pinnick who is also the 1st vice president of the confederation of african football was also quoted as saying that there was no victor and no vanquished in the race as football remained the ultimate winner1 in his acceptance speech pinnick specifically thanked president muhammadu buhari vice president yemi osinbajo and the secretary to the government of the federation mr boss mustapha1 pinnick also thanked the attorney general of the federation and minister of justice the chief of staff to the president the director- general department of state services and the inspector general of police for their tremendous support for the board1 we respectfully ask for more support as we start a new tenure during which we aim to consolidate on our vision of building a sustainable football culture for our dear country and continue the great march toward ensuring financial independence for the nff1 we owe this country a lot and we are committed to working hard to give back so much to it1 we intend to set up a reconciliation team in a few days to reach out to aggrieved members of the football family with a view to bringing everyone under one umbrella for the purpose of a united front in the pursuit of the greater good for nigerian football he said1 the nff supremo also thanked the governors of delta and edo states for their understanding and support as well as players and officials of the various national teams for their efforts at doing nigeria proud at all times1 a festive atmosphere reigned in the home of hospitality as the full machinery of government was in motion to watch over the big occasion of the nff 2018 elective congress alongside the presence of observers from world football governing body fifa and the confederation of african football1 at the opening ceremony governor aminu masari of katsina state poured encomiums on the nff administration led by pinnick for its major strides over the past four years1 he noted trophies won in the fifa under 17 world cup women africa cup of nations the u23 and u20 africa cup of nations olympic football bronze and the recent wafu u17 cup triumph in niger republic1 he praised the aggressive marketing drive of the administration that had galvanized a steady move toward financial independence while pledging that the government of katsina state would continue to invest in football development because of the games virtues of youth empowerment and meaningful engagement1 governor masari was accompanied to the event by top officials of the katsina state government including the attorney general and commissioner for justice ahmed el-marzuq the chief judge of katsina state justice musa abubakar the commissioner for sports abu dankun and the grand khadi of the state hafiz bakori1 nan also reports that pinnick became the first man since father dennis slattery of blessed memory in 1957 to be elected back-to-back to one of the hottest seats in world football1 second-placed maigari the immediate past occupier of the office warmly embraced pinnick after the vote saying the vote has come and gone and football is the winner. the focus is football development1 i bear no grudge and i must say that i am indeed delighted by the strides that amaju pinnick has taken since taking over from me four years ago. he is like a son and i am proud of him1 incumbent seyi akinwunmi was even more emphatic in retaining his seat bagging 41 of the votes to challenger sunday dele-ajayis 2 while one vote was deemed invalid1 in other votes incumbent ibrahim musa gusau retained his seat as chairman of chairmen on the board polling 42 of 44 votes following the withdrawal of patrick ifeanyi ubah on the floor of the election1 ahmed yusuf fresh and suleiman yahaya-kwande retained their seats on the board after a nerve jangling contest that went to three rounds1 chairman of kwara state football association busari ishola was eliminated in the first round after polling only 10 votes leaving yusuf and fresh to vie in the second1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that the polls was conducted by the nff electoral committee put in place by the nff congress at last years general assembly in jos plateau on oct. 19 20171 emmanuel ibah defeated oswald atuake 28 votes to 15 to win the remaining slot from the south south following pinnicks re-election while ganiyu majekodunmi and sharif rabiu inuwa were unopposed for the south -west and north -west slots1 three candidates slugged it out in the south-east with enyimba fc chairman felix anyansi-agwu winning the lone slot available as chidi ofo okenwa still has a seat as chairman of the nigeria national league1 anyansi-agwu polled 32 votes to nearest challenger emmanuel ochiaghas eight1 jude obikwelu and pastor emeka inyama who withdrew from the contest on the floor of the election still got two votes and one vote respectfully1 fifa observers luca piazza and solomon mudege and caf observer sita sangare witnessed both the opening ceremony and the entire elective congress proper1 chairman of the electoral committee barrister muhammed sani katu afterward swore in the new board1 next up for pinnick is his formal inauguration as the 1st vice president of caf at the bodys extraordinary general assembly in egypt on sept. 301 amaju pinnick president1 seyi akinwnumi 1st vice president1 shehu dikko 2nd vice president1 ibrahim musa gusau member1 ahmed yusuf fresh member1 felix anyansi-agwu member1 suleiman yahaya-kwande member1 babagana kalli member1 sharif rabiu inuwa member1 chidi ofo okenwa member1 aisha falode member1 mohammed alkali member1 musa duhu member1 ganiyu majekodunmi member1 emmanuel ibah member1 mohammed sanusi secretary1