FIFA dismisses petitions on Pinnick

Football’s world governing body, FIFA, has quashed any hopes Iyke Igbokwe and Okechukwu Ajunwa may have harboured regarding the former’s petition against Amaju Pinnick’s election as President of the Nigeria Football Federation after insisting on upholding the earlier decision reached by the majority of the NFF’s Electoral and Appeals Committee.

Igbokwe had, in the aftermath of Pinnick’s September 30 election as president of the NFF, filed a petition to the Electoral and Appeals Committee headed by Ajunwa.

Five members of the six-man committee – Victor Nwangwu, Bala Garba, Sani Mohammed, Mohammed Sanusi and Dotun Coker – on December 3 however upheld the outcome of the September 30 elections.



The committee’s Chairman, Ajunwa, was however the only differing voice, as he granted Igbokwe’s request to annul the outcome of the polls.

Pinnick, on his part, continued to serve as boss of the NFF which led to Igbokwe and Ajunwa to jointly write a letter to FIFA on December 10 to uphold their request to have a re-run of the NFF elections.

FIFA on December 18, however, replied the duo and with a subtle warning not to take the matter to a civil court in the foreseeable future.

“FIFA is of the opinion that the majority decisions issued by the Electoral Appeals Committee appear to have validly upheld in their entirety the results of the NFF elective Congress held in Warri on 30 September 2014,” stated the letter signed by FIFA’s Secretary General, Jerome Valcke, and copied to the NFF.

The letter added: “We kindly draw your attention to the fact that this information is only of a general nature and, therefore, without prejudice to any decision that any competent body may be called to pass in this or similar matters in the future.”

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