Issa Hayatou tipped for another tenure stretch

Issa Hayatou and Amaju PinnickCurrent CAF president, Issa Hayatou of Cameroon, is tipped for another tenure stretch with an influence of the Nigerian government ordering the head of the country’s football association (NFF) to back him in his re-election bid. A senior official revealed Monday. In spite of the executive order, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick publicly showed interest in Hayatou’s principal contender, Ahmad Ahmad. Pinnick has an axe to grind with his backing for Madagascar’s Ahmad, a position which has put him in contention with the country’s football-governing body, NFF, the sports minister Solomon Dalung, and members of Nigerian representatives in the CAF’s executive committee. News Breakers gathered that a senior figure in Nigeria’s presidency confirmed that a meeting presided over by Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo directed Pinnick to vote for Hayatou on the ground of bilateral ties existing between Nigeria and Cameroon. The source affirmed that the presidency was contacted by the sports minister, Solomon Dalung about Thursday’s vote to be held in Addis Ababa and sought to know the choice of the country. “There is an existing joint relationship between Nigeria and Cameroon and most recently both countries collaborated in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency,” he added. “We can’t afford to jeopardise this relationship. “Pinnick has therefore been ordered to cast his vote for Hayatou even if every other country failed to do so, as Nigeria does not owe Madagascar anything.” Nigeria’s fight against the dreaded Islamist rebels Boko Haram since 2009 has caused the loss of at least 20,000 lives and displaced more than 2.6 million people from their homes. The spillover of fighting has affected neighbouring countries like Cameroon, Chad and Niger. All of those countries and Nigeria, as well as Benin Republic, have coordinated a regional force to defeat the rebels. The Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, has said earlier this month that Nigeria’s vote for Hayatou was in the country’s interest. According to him, this is not limited to geographical proximity alone but also that Cameroon had been “a true friend”. There were media reports which suggested the minister told FIFA secretary-general Fatma Samoura that it is necessary African football be allowed to operate without being pushed from outside the continent into making changes. Pinnick’s decision was made in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, during his announcement after a meeting of 12 federation bosses with FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino. The meeting organized by the Council of Southern African Football Associations, (COSAFA) have indicated the support for Ahmad on the election’s day. Samoura, had reportedly informed Dalung that Nigeria was “key” to remove the long-serving Hayatou. The world-governing body’s chief was drafted to FIFA last year from the UN Development Programme in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

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