Mr Maigari
Outgoing NFF President, Amaju Pinnick’s camp have found out how hugely unpopular they are and how much they had underrated Alhaji Aminu Maigari. Thus, the plan to destabilise him with the letter issued so that by Thursday morning, he would be outrightly disqualified.
www.gongnews.net sources disclosed that the NFF electoral committee led by Mohammed Katu was prodded to belatedly fly the kite that Maigari is now only on a “provisional clearance.” Migari had earlier been cleared for the polls in Katsina.
The big plan is to get him off the presidential ballot before the elections on Thursday morning. In a telephone chat, the former FA boss said, “I have appealed against their verdict. I have the original of my certificate in question with me which they can check anytime they want.”
Our source said, “Pinnick only realised so late about three days to the poll that many of the folks who pretend to be in his camp were busy collecting money from him without their allegiance. He did not know he was so unpopular even among his so-called backers.”
The source who is a sitting FA Chairman quipped that “even Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi is a silent threat. Maigari is our ‘oga’ but for Pinnick, he swore on the Holy Quran saying, “many of us don’t have our self-esteem under him, he has rubbished us, but we are around him because of what we can get from him. Most of us are not loyal to him.”
“We don’t believe in his leadership or what he stands for. Pinnick is not the best for Nigerian football – he’s is proud, very brash and he’s in office for himself.
“Maigari is charismatic, achieved far more than Amaju can ever dream of and most importantly, he is a team player.
Our boastful source said, “in our meeting, the resolution is that Maigari must not be on the ballot. He will be outrightly disqualified because we can’t afford to take any chances with him.”
My original certificate is with me: Maigari told www.gongnews.net on Wednesday afternoon that contrary to the announcement of the electoral committee his original certificates are available for examination.
According to him, he has appealed against the decision of the committee to now only grant him “provisional clearance”.
“I am the front runner for the NFF presidency. They know and got scared. The decision of the electoral committee is unacceptable after I was cleared to run for this elections. They probably did not read the NFF Statute well” the former NFF boss said.
“I believe, by the dictates of the NFF Statute that there is a deadline for the hearing of petitions, not just few hours to the elections. This won’t happen. Not in this election. This is not Warri where the rules were stood on its head.”
“I have my original certificates fully supported by all the necessary documentations and they are available for anyone who cares to examine them,” he maintained.
Maigari has received overwhelming support from across the country ever since he declared his intention to return to office after a highly successful tenure between 2010 and 2014.
Katu electoral committee not independent: “This is intimidation and a clear case of abuse of office because Maigari has covered a lot of ground with the delegates. Chief Ogunjobi has his own section of friends among the delegates. If both men work together, they topple the unpopular Pinnick at the polls.”
The independence of the electoral committee, it was alleged, was clearly compromised by the fact that the announcement was conveyed by the NFF director of communications to media houses.
“The electoral committee has already been hijacked by Pinnick if not it should be the committee’s chairman or his secretary who ought to disclose Maigari’s ‘provisional clearance’ and not a staff of the NFF,” another official argued. (Gongnews)
