The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has slammed Segun Odegbami for his campaign against the federation and other prominent Nigerian football figures, after he failed to win a slot for the FIFA presidency.
Odegbami was unable to secure the required five nominations needed to put him on the ballot for next year’s election and has been furious with the NFF, Dr Amos Adamu and Orji Uzor Kalu.
“We are thoroughly disappointed at the conduct of Chief Odegbami since his failed bid,” Hon. Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande, Chairman of the NFF Media and Publicity Committee, stated.
“He was his own big problem, with the letter he wrote castigating the leadership of FIFA and CAF, which he brazenly copied to these eminent figures.
“We consider Chief Odegbami an elder statesman in Nigeria football, but he has been throwing a lot of tantrums lately. He has been accusing very prominent and illustrious persons of so many things, and pretending to be a saint.”
Yahaya-Kwande, also insisted that it was up to Odegbami to get the five nominations he needed apart from the NFF’s endorsement.
“The NFF is aware that Odegbami reached out to the Football Associations of Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic and Zambia. How is his failure the fault of the NFF? They told him to his face that they were opposed to him because of his statements against the President of CAF, who is now Acting FIFA President.
“He said the NFF wasted time in endorsing him. As far back as September 8, we set out conditions for himself and Chief Orji Kalu to meet before we could endorse either of them. We always emphasized extensive consultations by the aspirants. It is outrightly mischievous for him to give the impression that the NFF was his problem. The NFF President was in Cairo, Egypt to campaign for him for the five nominations, but where was Odegbami himself on the day that mattered?
“Let it be said that Nigeria was the only country where more than one person showed interest in the race. Odegbami was a great football player and brought honour to Nigeria, but Chief Kalu also brought honour to Nigeria through extensive support for Enyimba to win top laurels. It is also true that Kalu announced his interest before Odegbami did.”
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