TheCable

The new NFF President, Melvin Pinnick Amaju, has promised to reach out to Chris Giwa and other aggrieved football stakeholders and bring them under one umbrella for the good of the game.

Pinnick, who doubles as chairman of the Delta State Sports Commission and Football Federation, won a keenly contested election in Warri on Tuesday. He inferred in his speech that he woukd go on his knees to make Nigeria football stand tall.

“I’ll go and beg Chris Giwa, Dominic Iorfa, Taiwo Ogunjobi, Amanze Uchegbulam, Abba Yola. We can only move forward when there is unity,” he said.

“My election is a divine one. I never bargained to be president. They wanted to make me chairman of the electoral body. Today, I thank all Nigerians and dedicate this victory to late Patrick Okpomo who tutored me. He wanted to be president of the Nigerian Football but never got it. Now, I’ve it and will give it my best”, he said shedding tears of joy.

But a clearly-unimpressed Giwa has failed to recognise Pinnick as president of the NFF.

“It came to our notice that some people gathered in Warri to conduct an illegal election. We are also aware that a court of competent jurisdiction outlawed the processes embarked upon in Warri,” Giwa said.

“We shall pursue the course of justice and fair play as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution on us as Nigerians.

“FIFA as a law-abiding institution stayed away from the illegal Warri Congress. They are aware that there are court processes in place against the so-called Congress.”

He said that in line with the orders of the federal high court, the board would meet on Thursday October 2, 2014 in Abuja “where decisions shall be taken and Nigerians shall be properly briefed at the end of the meeting.”