Orji Kalu, others want Pinnick sacked
On the pitch, Amaju and his board members have recorded a catalogue of failures and faced much corruption in the last seven years.
A distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Orji Uzor Kalu has joined in calling for the sack of Amaju Pinnick and other members of the board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF)
On the pitch, Amaju and his board members have recorded a catalogue of failures and faced much corruption in the last seven years.
The Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup on Tuesday led to the explosion of bottled up anger against the board in the last 24 hours.
In his Tweets, Kalu said it is high time the entire management of NFF is overhauled.
Kalu who as Abia State Governor led Enyimba of Aba to back-to-back CAF Champions League conquest, thus about three decades for Nigeria clubs wrote,
“In the past five years, we have been patient with incompetence in what should be best. The reality is that football is the same as science courses like medicine and engineering, where you can’t cut corners, otherwise, you produce quack and incompetent people. The Federal Government and Nigerians have supported the NFF beyond measures and since they can’t give us the needed results, they should be sacked for a better and more tactical management.”
A former official of the Super Eagles, Rev. Eches, laid the blame for the team’s latest failure squarely on the doorsteps of Pinnick.
“The reason for our inability to qualify can be traced to the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation, especially the President, Amaju Pinnick,” Eches stated.
“He is a young man that is doing well as a person and he prides himself on his personal success, gains, contacts, wealth, connections and ability to meander to work through CAF and FIFA.
“But these successes of his is now robbing off on the very foundation that gave rise to all these his success and this directly got into his head that he seemed as the overall and that is why he cannot listen to advise.
“He wants to do whatever that is in his head and mind at all times.
“He is full of himself that when you are making suggestions to him, he sees them as trash.
“He has caused damage in the nation, our reputation in football is gone by this singular non-qualification. This calamity would have been avoided if only he had listened to me.
“Football is supplying unity and happiness and can’t be allowed in the hands of one man, whose success has taken over his head.”
“With the result and the performance of the game against Ghana in Abuja, Amaju Pinnick and his cronies should by now have tendered their resignation letter,” said Adesanwo Adeleke, former staff of CBN and owner of a football academy in Ogun State.
Sani Fema, Special Assistant to the Senate President, in an exclusive interview with insideglasshouse.com, again blamed Pinnick and his board for inflicting pain on millions of Nigerian soccer fans after the Super Eagles crash in Abuja.
Fema said the administration of football under Pinnick has for the past eight years done more irreparable damage and that the final nail was put on its coffin by the failure of the country to qualify for the most important football fiesta in the world.
He, therefore, challenged the NFF President and his Board members to the most honourable thing by tendering their letter of resignation before it’s too late.
Fema claimed he openly dared them at the Abuja Stadium immediately after the match.
Even staff members of the NFF, who do not wish to be named for obvious reasons, rejoiced over the Eagles' failure.
“Many of us have been marginalized by this man because we were seen not as his loyalists,” one of them informed
“They have made many of us redundant so much so that now even Executive Committee Members do our day-to-day job.”
And on Twitter, thousands of Nigerians are calling for Pinnick and his board’s resignation. Wrote Deji Faremi (@deejayfaremi) “Without the distraction of the Super Eagles at the World Cup, Amaju Pinnick can focus on his FIFA politics, hosting shows in Warri and his other local political ambitions. The worst NFF president ever. Nigerian teams were secondary to everything else he cared about.”
And in a tweet, World Champions 2022 (@MikeDollar18),”Nigerians, listen to me. Eguavoen is a useful idiot, agreed! But the real idiot here is the NFF president Amaju Pinnick, the dumb lad has taken us for a long ride. We should be outraged enough to force him out. But Nigerian sports Journalists will crucify me for the crumbs!”
For Opeyemi Babalola (@CACCOT1) “Amaju Pinnick used the Super Eagles as cover all along and sold the dummy of progress with World Cup qualification. Nothing else grew under him. It’s the morning after that inglorious night and I’m surprised he’s yet to resign. Must I tell Eguavoen to walk out the door?”
