Delegates get N1m ‘bribe’ as battle for Glass House holds

The stage is set for the elective congress of the Nigeria Football Federation in Warri, Delta State. What initially looked uncertain became more apparent as contestants and delegates besieged the oil city of Delta State on Monday afternoon through the evening.
Shehu Dikko was the only candidate out of the seven presidential aspirants that had not arrived and therefore did not participate in the debate held at the Golden Tulip Hotel.
Dikko however sent a message, which was said to have been dictated to his publicist. He said he had been held up in the traffic in Lokoja, Kogi State.
Hear him: “I have been held up in Lokoja traffic as I dictate this message at 6:10pm. Still I hope that the vision I have enunciated on my website offers sufficient insight to my plans to make the game thrive in full collaboration with all the stakeholders and most especially with all our governments at all levels.”
The debate took off with Taiwo Ogunjobi taking the podium to enunciate his programme. If elected, Ogunjobi will be having a third missionary journey to the NFF offices, having been the General Secretary from 2002 to 2005 and and a member of the executive committee in the 2007 to 2010 regime headed by Sani Lulu Abdulahi.
Ogunjobi disclosed that he is a bridge builder and a good traveller who knows how to travel with the mind.
Next to speak was Dominic Iorfa who, like Ogunjobi, was a former footballer of note. Also, Iorfa served in the administration headed by Abdulahi. He disclosed that his mission at the NFF will be to encourage accountability and transparency. He told the crowd about the Dominic Iorfa International Football Academy as a pet project, which illustrates his resourcefulness.
After him, Abba Yola spoke about his achievements at Kano Pillars, which remains a frontline club in Nigeria. Yola also spoke of his longstanding experience in sports administration generally.
Amaze Uchegbulam, another colleague of Ogunjobi and Iorfa in the NFF board headed by Abdulahi, spoke of the negative effect of taking football matters to civil court having subscribed to the FIFA Statutes. Uchegbulam also spoke of the need to enhance the financing of the local league and the clubs. He alluded to his being part of the reforming of the league with Chief Oyuiki Obaseki when the Premier League debuted in Nigeria.
Amadu Pinnick, the head of football and sports generally, promised to bring dynamism into the NFF if elected.
Of the six candidates at the debate, Pinnick and Yola were the only ones never to have served on the NFF board. He summarized his campaign as a call and desire to serve. He pointed out that even before being elected, he had made ground works that will see corporate bodies marketing the programmes of the NFF.
Mike Umeh, the longest serving football administrator in the country and the outgoing First Vice President, pointed at the good results that the outgoing regime achieved and the need for continuity so that he could develop on what the regime had done.
Voting commenced at 10 o’clock at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Warri.
It was gathered that meetings and counter meetings were held by delegates till the early hours of Tuesday, just as candidates also dished out large amount of money to canvass for votes.
The amount, according to our source, ranged between N500,000 and N1 million for each delegate.