TheCable

Sani Lulu Abdullahi, former president of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), has picked an All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship form to contest the November governorship in Kogi state.

He will go against Yahaya Bello, the incumbent governor of the state, for the party ticket.

Abdullahi picked up the form at the APC national secretariat in Abuja at about 12 noon on Thursday.

The former NFF president said he will pursue a policy of zero tolerance to corruption if he becomes governor of Kogi State while addressing journalists at the APC secretariat in Abuja.

He reeled out as part of his achievement to journalists that on assumption of the NFF leadership office in 2006, where he said he inherited a N300 million debt, but left the federation richer to the tune of N2.8 billion when he exited office four years later.

After eight years of judiciary battle, the Appeal Court in Abuja cleared Sani Lulu of any complicity or wrongdoing in the N2.2 billion corruption charges leveled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in November 2018.

“We are going to do our job to give our best to Kogites but to also process that we have a platform that we can use in Kogi state to support the zero tolerance for corruption like Mr president is doing,” Lulu said.

“That was why possibly they saw from a deficit of 300million naira I saw in the account and I was able to raise money to up to N2.8 billion.

“I now know that the people want me to give my best just like I have done in where I have worked before. As a director of sports, as a president of the Nigeria Football Federation, where I was so transparently representing their interest and accounting for every bit of resources that I had.

“It is difficult to see such thing happening in any Organisation. So, I want to believe Kogi people have interest in what I have done because of the great work I have done.”

The APC primaries for November governorship election hold on August 29.

The former Federal Capital Territory director of sports is among the top contenders for APC ticket for the journey to the Lugard House in Lokoja.

He was both the 1st and 2nd Vice President of the NFF in 2006 before been elected into the leadership position of the federation.

The FOSLA Academy proprietor was board member and chairman of the FCT FA, served in the Federal Capital Territory Administration from 1981 – 2015, where he rose to the position of director in the Sports Council, team manager, and patron FCDA Football Club.

He is a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Institute of Cooperate Administration of Nigeria, member, Nigerian Institute of Management.