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BOSS OF THE WEEK: Amaju Pinnick: Football Administrator With A Midas Touch

Published

5 years ago

April 6, 2019

Eric

In Nigeria, football is the King of sports. We talk football, we eat football and we drink football-indeed for so many in Africa’s most populous country, football is a religion.

It is because of the importance of that game in Nigeria that Amaju Melvin Pinnick can be placed in a very high pedestal as one of the country’s most famous individuals.

Apart from occupying the enviable position of President, Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Amaju is a record breaker par excellence. He broke the long-held jinx that no Nigerian FA Chair can secure another term by securing an overwhelming victory at last year’s election that got him a second 4-year tenure in office.

Returning to the football House was not because Pinnick is adept at playing local politics or that he had millions to throw around, no no!his secret weapon was his total commitment to the development of football in Nigeria which was exhibited by his sterling work ethic and monumental achievement in his first term.

He brought a new philosophy to football administration in Nigeria, starting with transparency and probity to securing mega deals for the association, its products as well as the national teams!

Born in Warri, Delta State to late Chief Oritsetimeyin Japhet Pinnick and Madam Rebecca Ayomike in 1973, like King Midas, anything he has touched in football, has turned to gold.

Those who are close to him swear that what he has become today has occurred through a dint of hardwork , focus, and dedication. He is the fifteenth of his parent’s nineteen children, so from a very young age he had to carve a niche for himself, he had to understand that you need to do something extraordinary to stand out. This has helped to shape the trajectory of his life.

We are told that Pinnick, fired by his love for the beautiful game joined the Delta State FA and was very eager to learn. In 2003, he became the Vice Chairman of the DSFA and later the Delta State FA Chairman.

He, it was, in 2007, that convinced then Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan to establish the Delta State Sports Commission. The aim was to give sports a professional and institutional platform to thrive and this helped to reenact the glory days of sports in one-half of the former Bendel State.

Under Pinnick, during the 2012 National Sports Festival in Lagos, Delta emerged the overall champions, coasting home with 114 Gold. 99 Silver and 75 Bronze, the state displaced the defending Champions Rivers to second.

It was this monumental feat that people around the country began to take notice of this well-traveled young man who dreams big and has the knack for excellence.

That was not all, about this time, Delta State-owned Warri Wolves was also making giant strides in the Nigerian league and everyone could see the input of the FA.

The Passion of Pinnick was infectious and admirable, Chairman Pinnick was at almost every match. It was obvious that for him football administration was serious business. It was no surprise therefore that he brought a lot of innovation to football administration in the state chief among them was his ability to leverage his contacts and connection to attract private sector sponsorship for the DSFA. He was indeed a technocrat with a difference.

So when the Warri boy decided that he was ripe enough to go national with his ideas and made an audacious bid for the Presidency, some did not give him a chance.

Those who were in the race in 2014 included Shehu Diukko, late Taiwo Ogunjobi, Dominic Iorfa and Amanze Ugbechulam. He was the only one who had not previously held a position in the Glass House. But when the chips were down, he won. He secured 32 votes from the available 44-and that was when Nigerian Football began to enjoy its steady reawakening.

Today, under his leadership, Nigerian football is gradually getting back to its pride of place, he has added a touch of spice to the game with the mega deals he swung for the National teams-and now he is taking it a step further with the partnership with oil & gas giant, AITEO for the NFF Awards.

With a wonderful performance as the NFF President, it was no surprise that he was soon elected to the CAF Executive Committee as the First Vice President.

In International Football, Pinnick is well-respected and is a Member of the Organizing Committee for Fifa Competitions. He is very close to world football president, Gianni Infantino.

This closeness was exhibited by how the body stood by Pinnick when some forces tried to scuttle his second term bid. And when he was elected into CAF, the fifa President wrote
“I have no doubt that your considerable experience, combined with your human qualities, will help you overcome all future challenges in your new position in the service of African football community .I look forward to continuing to work with you and seeing you in person to congratulate you.

Just last week, at the second edition of the NFF Awards which was aimed at celebrating the legends of Nigerian football, President Pinnick showed his gravitas and clout again, this time guess who was in town? The most important and powerful woman in world football, fifa Secretary-General, Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura was in Lagos, and she received a special award.

This debonair family man who attended the famous Hussey College and studied Political Science/Public Administration at the University of Benin is a man at the Pinnacle of an exciting career in football.

The first-rate sport administrator who loves swimming, spending quality time with family and attending comedy shows is a Master of the Game who more than deserves to be our Boss Of The Week.

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Breaking: Wike Plans to Attend Thursday’s PDP NEC Meeting

Published

2 days ago

April 17, 2024

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

The immediate past Governor of Rivers State, and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, may have concluded plans to attend the much advertised National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), billed to hold on Thursday, in Abuja.

Impeccable source, who is in the know, told The Boss that the minister, whose membership of the PDP is yet to be revoked even as he frolicks with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and serving in the President Bola Tinubu government as a minister.

The Source told The Boss that Wike’s impending presence at the NECeeting on Thursday is not unconnected with plans, already hatched with some governors, to weaken the opposition PDP.

“Yes, we have on good authority that FCT minister, Wike is planning to attend the NEC meeting tomorrow all in a bid to weaken the fabrics of the PDP, and pave the way for the continuation of the Tinubu administration come 2027, and by extension, relapse Nigeria to a full blown one party state.

“From every indication, Wike and his co-travellers, are bent on unleashing the same crisis ravaging the third force, Labour Party, and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s Nigerian National People’s Party (NNPP) on the PDP for the APC to remain the only political party in the country, and ensure that Tinubu has no challenger, come 2027,” the Source said.

It would be recalled that Wike has boasted over and again that there’s no opposition against Tinubu’s re-emergence in 2027, and that they have made sure of that. He has been compensated with the Ministerial job after he withdrew support for his party, and supported the APC and Tinubu to emerge as national government.

The Source further revealed that in the attempt to actualize the intended one party state, a lot of funding is ongoing to ensure that concerned stakeholders are ‘settled’ handsomely.

Wike, prior, during and after the 2023 general elections, has been floating in between the two major political parties; the APC and the PDP. While he claim to still be a member of the PDP, he is functioning as a minister in an APC government, mocking the inability of his party to discipline him.

Political stakeholders have concluded that the outcome of Thursday’s PDP NEC meeting will determine the path Nigeria’s political trajectory will take, and that it may portend the end of multi-party system and political democracy if Wike succeeds in his plan.

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Bribery, Corruption: APC Suspends National Chairman, Ganduje

Published

4 days ago

April 15, 2024

Eric

The All Progressives Congress ward in Ganduje, Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area, has suspended the party’s National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje.

The party ward legal adviser, Halliru Gwanzo, announced the suspension while addressing newsmen in Kano State on Monday.

Gwanzo cited allegations of bribery against Ganduje levelled by the Kano State Government as the reason for the suspension.

“We decided to suspend Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje from the party due to the seriousness of the allegations against him,” Gwanzo said.

Meanwhile, efforts to contact the Chief Press Secretary to the APC National Chairman, Mr Edwin Olufo, failed as his mobile phone was unreachable.

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Akpabio Commits to Collaboration with Tinubu, Governor Umo Eno

Published

1 week ago

April 12, 2024

Admin

The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has stated his commitment to working closely with Nigeria’s President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Governor Umo Eno to ensure the delivery of democratic benefits to the people of Akwa Ibom State.

Akpabio stated this in his country home, Ukana, Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom, while briefing his constituents on the journey so far as their representative in the red chamber.

He assured the people of Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District of his commitment to their welfare in appreciation of their total support for him, President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in last year’s election.

The Highpoint of the constituency briefing was the distribution of over 10,000 bags of rice and other essentials for his constituents from the wards, to the local governments.

A statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, quoted Akpabio as saying, “I am here once again, to thank you for standing by me, our President and the party, before, during and even after last year’s elections. I have come to say thank you and also bring Renewed Hope to you all.

“As the President is doing his own, the Senate President is also doing his bit and being complemented by the state governor, Akwa Ibom would be the better for it. We have finished elections and politics, we are now into governance. The governor of the state must touch you, because he is the governor of all the people in the state irrespective of political affiliation.

” As I am touching you now from the political angle, I will also touch the state without any political party affiliation. Most of the projects we are putting in place would be used by people resident in the state. Relax, things are getting better.”

The former Governor of the state, assured his constituents that his current position as the Senate President would be used for the development of the state in collaboration with the President and the Akwa Ibom State Governor.

Hear him: This Senate President is not the one that would be fighting the state government. I will collaborate with , I will collaborate with , to make the state better for us all. We cannot be out of government for a long time. You have to go to a government that carries you along”

Akpabio promised to work for his constituents and Nigeria with all his strength, noting that, “as the President of the Senate, I am for the Southern region and the entire country. I may not come here regularly to tell you what I have been doing for you, but you will be feeling the impact on way or the other. Our unemployed youths would be gainfully employed. I will construct a mini stadium in all the local governments in the district, for our youths to develop their sporting potentials. ”