BY Victor Akhidenor
Former Nigeria international, Segun Odegbami, has blamed “some Nigerians” for stopping him from getting endorsements from five of the 209 football associations of the world in his quest to be elected new FIFA president.
Odegbami, who was endorsed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to run for the FIFA presidency in February, could not get the desired endorsements as at Monday, October 26, which was the deadline for the submission of a nomination form.
And the former chairman of the National Institute for Sports (NIS) knows those behind his botched dream.
“I don’t want to say that the process was sabotaged from the word go but that’s the truth staring us in our faces,” he told supersport.com.
“At 2 pm yesterday (Monday) I got an email requesting the nomination, sent to FIFA and copied to me.
“That’s the first document I needed to seek endorsement from other five countries, and I got that vital document at exactly 2 pm.
“Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Amaju Pinnick, was in Cairo, Egypt, where some big heads of CAF were meeting and he promised to use his weight to get the required five endorsements.
“I was not in Cairo, but information filtered in that some Nigerians were determined to stop Pinnick from getting the endorsements as they insisted that somebody else has been endorsed.
“Eventually, Pinnick could not get the five endorsements but I think the federation did not want to do it from the start anyway.
“I think the Nigerian government must call for an inquiry into the circumstance surrounding the whole episode because I believe we just wasted a rare opportunity for a Nigerian to take a shot at the FIFA presidency.
“I think the whole exercise is all about bad blood, I did it. Nobody asked me to do it.
“It just occurred to me that throughout the whole exercise nobody knew what the rules say about vying for the office of FIFA president, which is not more than get five endorsements and your federation’s backing.
“I’m sure government must be taken aback by the turn of events as they forced the NFF to make the pronouncement backing my candidature, but then the NFF never released the required document on time.
“I think my candidature was shrouded in disbelief – why him, he cannot win, he is wasting our time, among other insinuations.
“But with the later disqualification of some key FIFA men, people started to react differently by showing faint support, but why not provide me with the nomination forms.
“How can I be looking for five endorsements in three hours before the deadline, I played my part, I started it. I wrote, I declared my intention. Nigeria did not support me; rather I’m frustrated all the way.
“It’s a good experience; I have created the psychological platform for any Nigerian to aspire for the highest office in the land, so I’m satisfied with what I have done.
“Right now it’s over for me, it’s a personal thing. I started the race. Nigeria did not start the race for me. I took full responsibility for everything.”
Here are the eight candidates who met the deadline for next February’s presidential polls:
Gianni Infantino
UEFA’s general secretary has stepped into the race following Michel Platini’s 90-day suspension. Born in Switzerland, Infantino, a multilingual lawyer who regularly makes the Champions League draw, has been Platini’s deputy at UEFA since 2009
Sheikh Salman
The head of the Asian Football Confederation since 2013, Sheikh Salman of Bahrain backed Sepp Blatter at the May election. His candidature has been the subject of great controversy, with groups criticising his human rights record
Michel Platini
The UEFA president was a prime candidate for Blatter’s throne until FIFA banned him from all football-related activities for 90 days. Is appealing against the ban and denies wrongdoing despite questions over a £1.3m payment he received from Blatter
Prince Ali
Took Blatter to the second round of voting at May’s election, only to withdraw. A FIFA vice-president between 2011 and 2015, Prince Ali won 73 votes, saying: “I had the courage to fight for change when others were afraid”
Tokyo Sexwale
South African serves on the anti-racism committee having spent 13 years in prison on Robben Island during apartheid. Now a multimillionaire businessman
Jérôme Champagne
Frenchman failed to receive the necessary nominations needed for a presidential challenge last time out but has put himself back in contention. A former adviser to Blatter, Champagne had been a FIFA executive for 11 years
Musa Bility
The head of the Liberian FA has stated that Africa should play a leading role in world football but has not always enjoyed an easy relationship with CAF. In 2011 Bility declared he would vote against Blatter in the FIFA elections of that year
David Nakhid
Former Trinidad and Tobago captain, who played for clubs in Belgium and Switzerland among others, runs a football academy in Lebanon but is hoping to garner support from his native CONCACAF
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