October 4 – After months of internal wrangling, Ibrahim Musa Gusau has been elected president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), fending off challenges from former vice-presidents Seyi Akinwunmi and Shehu Dikko as well as former international goalkeeper Idah Peterside to emerge as successor to long-term incumbent Amaju Pinnick.
Chairman of the regional Zamfara FA, Gusau won the poll in Benin City by a landslide with 39 votes out of a possible 41.
Former international goalkeeper Peterside Idah, who got one vote in the first round, insisted on a run-off but still ended up with a solitary vote (with the other invalidated).
Gusua’s emergence marks the end of a long and convoluted process mired by court injunctions and even a bomb threat. The poll went ahead following an NFF appeal against a court injunction that had originally barred it from taking place.
Both Pinnick and sports minister Sunday Dare are expected in court this week to answer questions.
The 58-year-old Gusau, a civil servant with the Zamfara Ministry of Finance, takes charge of an organisation blighted by a poor domestic league, financial problems, failure to qualify for the World Cup and a myriad of corruption allegations.
Gusau was an executive member of the NFF board under Pinnick, who is still a member of the all-powerful FIFA Council. He says he will now shift his focus to that role and at the Confederation of African Football.
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