Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on Monday appealed to
warring factions in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to sheathe
their sword in the interest of football development in the country.
Saraki,
according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu,
made the call, when the President of NFF, Amadju Pinnick led the
President of the International Federation of Association Football
(FIFA), Gianni Infantino, and Secretary General, Fatma Samoura on a
visit to the National Assembly in Abuja.
Members of the board
of NFF and Presidents of Football Associations (FA) from other African
countries also accompanied the FIFA President on the visit.
The
Senate President urged the NFF executive to seize the international
recognition accorded Nigeria by the visit of the FIFA leadership to put
the crisis plaguing the association behind them and commit to providing
leadership for gainful football administration in the country.
Saraki
while responding to the remarks made by Infantino said: “Apart from the
major issue of reform and accountability, the key issue remains the
development of our own football and I think Africa, as you said, is the
greatest place such can come from.
“We are going to play our
own role in creating the enabling environment. I am happy that fellow
presidents of football associations in different African countries are
here. I think your visit clearly shows that you are keen and you want to
work with us in Africa. We must play our own role and that is why we
must give all the support we can.
“And I think it gives me an
opportunity to talk to the members of NFF that we must solve our
problems. I think that with this kind of world recognition we have
today, the only thing we can do is to show example here in Nigeria, how
we think a football association should be run and we must put an end to
the crisis we are presently going through.
“A lot of you
professionals sometimes blame politicians that when we lose elections we
don’t want to accept. But now we politicians are now reformed. When we
lose elections we accept. I think football professionals too should
learn from us.
“In this era of change, when you lose
elections, accept and wait for when the tenure is over to re-contest.
But to try and bring the house down because you did not win would not be
in the overall interest of the country.
“Whether
rightly or wrongly, I think we just need to move on. Especially for
something that the whole country loves, I think it is not too much of a
sacrifice. You know in elections, sometimes it is fair, sometimes it is
not fair, accept it for the interest of everybody and be ready for the
next elections. So I want to appeal to those of us who are managing our
football that it is time for you to learn. We politicians, we have moved
on. You should follow us.
“But on a serious note, I think
this is a matter that we need to put behind us. I think having the
President of FIFA here, and all other presidents from different parts of
Africa, we must provide leadership in this matter,” he said.
In
his remarks, Infantino said that he was happy to be in Nigeria in view
of its passion for the football game, saying that the passion should be
cherished and protected.
He said that his visit
was meant to underscore the importance of Nigeria and by extension the
African continent in the development of world football.
Infantino
said: “Nigeria is not only a big country but a great country. Africa is
not only a big continent but a great continent. A great continent
actually because it shares the great passion which is the passion I have
for football.
“I was impressed yesterday coming from the
airport to the city, to see how many people – boys, girls and kids –
were playing football along the streets. You see that you don’t only
love football, you really live football in this country.
“This
must be cherished and protected. We need stability and unity to work in
a serious way because Nigeria has a great tradition and a great passion
for football and the whole of Africa has it.
“I was elected
with a mandate for change, reform and to bring transparency and good
governance into football. But also most importantly to foster the
development of football. And Africa has to play a key role in this,” he
said.
Earlier, the NFF President, called on the
National Assembly to help initiate laws that would lead to development
and smooth administration of football in the country.
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