FIFA Presidency: Issa Hayatou assures Nigeria of support

Nigeria's hopes of producing the next FIFA President received a boost as President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Issa Hayatou, assured the Country of support ahead of next year’s FIFA presidential election, even as more stakeholders drummed support for former Abia State governor, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu who they have urged to run for football's top job.
Hayatou’s assurance came early this week when the President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF),  Amaju Pinnick visited him in Yaounde, Cameroon.
The NFF in a statement made available to Daily Sunsports disclosed that Hayatou  emphasized that Nigeria is a very important nation in African, also world football, and would always play an influential role at every turn.
The Cameroonian lauded the measures that the present NFF had been taking to rebuild Nigeria football and restore the nation’s glory in the international game.
Pinnick briefed his host on the various developmental programmes of the Nigeria Football Federation, which Hayatou interestingly said he was aware of.
Africa’s number one football administrator, who is world governing body, FIFA’s only Senior Vice President, spoke at length on the unity in CAF which insinuated that CAF would only support a candidate which has Africa’s interests at heart, for the forthcoming FIFA presidential elections.
The NFF boss then thanked the CAF President and assured him of Nigeria’s steadfastness in support of CAF’s programmes.


“As a responsible affiliate body, the NFF will continue to follow CAF’s lead in global football politics and policies. We have a lot of developmental programmes that we are about to unveil, and we will always require CAF’s support,” said Pinnick.
It would be recalled that while setting its conditions for Nigerians aspiring for the highest office in world football, the NFF had made it clear that it would be willing to facilitate meetings with CAF’s top hierarchy for the aspirants. This also formed part of discussions between the CAF President and NFF boss, Pinnick on Monday.
Meanwhile, Nigerian-born former Wimbledon FC attacker, John Fashanu, had promised to personally prevail on Nigerian former international, Segun Odegbami, to sacrifice his FIFA presidential ambition to enable Nigeria channel all resources, efforts and forces towards actualizing the dream of former Abia State governor, Chief (Dr) Orji Uzor Kalu.
Speaking to Sunsports in Abuja yesteray, the former board member of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) further pointed out that based on the conviction of his team, Kalu, the Nigerian Pillar of Sports, was more eminently qualified to go for the FIFA job.
“We will do everything humanly possible to convince Dr Kalu to contest. As a group, we have evaluated everything and we have come to the conclusion that Kalu has all it takes to emerge the next FIFA president. This is why we have put him forward, but he (Kalu) has not actually agreed to run. We know that he has the capacity to do it. He is very charismatic, a businessman and politician per excellence. On the other hand, Odegbami is our brother who has constitutional right to contest for FIFA president. He is a wonderful man.I would love to get Segun on phone to convince him to join our camp. He is a phenomenon, successful man and my very close friend. We will convince him to join us to work things together, move together and actualize the dream of Orji Uzor Kalu becoming the president of FIFA. It will be very wonderful to have Odegbami in our camp.”
Fashanu who equally spoke on the impediment NFF rules of engagement might pose to a Nigerian contesting stated: “Once we are able to persuade Chief Kalu to contest, I know that all the obstacles or barriers will be legally and correctly dealt with.”