The chairman of the Unified Supporters Club of Nigeria, Vincent Okumagba has described as a “setback,” the failure by Amaju Pinnick to retain his FIFA Council seat. Pinnick, a former NFF President, lost by a single vote at the poll held yesterday, in Cairo, Egypt, as part of the 14th CAF Extraordinary Congress. He scored 28 votes, only one short of both Ahmed Yahya of Mauritania and Souleman Hassan Waberi of Djibouti, who each scored 29 votes to make it to the exalted panel.
Morocco’s Fouzi Lekjaa swept 49 votes, with Egypt’s Hany Abou Rida and Niger Republic’s Djibrilla Hima Hamidou getting 35 votes each. Lekjaa, Rida, Hamidou, Yahya and Waberi joined CAF President, Patrice Motsepe, unopposed for a second term, as Africa’s representatives at the FIFA Council, alongside Kanizat Ibrahim from the Comoros Island who made the women’s seat by scoring 30 votes, as against 13 by former FIFA Council and IOC Member Lydia Nsekera, and seven for the incumbent, Isha Johansen.
Andrew Kamanga (Zambia), Yacine Idriss Diallo (Cote d’Ivoire), and Augustin Senghor (Senegal) polled 19, 18, and 13 votes respectively, while Benin Republic’s Mathurin De Chacus withdrew just before the vote.
Speaking with The Guardian shortly after the news of Pinnick’s defeat in Cairo filtered out, Okumagba said: “I feel sad that Amaju Pinnick lost out. It is a loss for Nigeria. Personally, I wanted him to retain his seat. Unfortunately, he lost.”
In the CAF Executive Committee elections yesterday, Alfred Randriamanampisoa (Madagascar) withdrew before the vote, leaving Elvis Chetty (Seychelles), Sobha Mohamed Ally Samir (Mauritius), and Feizal Ismael Sidat (Mozambique) to contest for two COSAFA seats. In the event, Sobha Samir and Feizal Sidat were successful.
Four years ago, Pinnick made history as the third Nigerian to be elected into the FIFA Council, following Oyo Orok Oyo and Amos Adamu. He first secured his seat in March 2021 during the 43rd CAF Ordinary General Assembly in Rabat, Morocco. Before his FIFA role, Pinnick served as the president of the NFF for two consecutive terms, from 2014 to 2022, before being succeeded by Ibrahim Gusau.
In a related development, Patrice Motsepe was re-elected as president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for a second term.
