Group makes N5 million bribe alleagtion

A sports advocacy group has raised an alarm over alleged plans by the embattled president of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, to bribe members of the NFF congress to pass a vote of confidence on his board at an emergency congress this weekend.
The Advocacy Group on Anti-Corruption in Sports in a statement on Monday said Pinnick has sent out invites to chairmen and secretaries of Football Associations across the 36 states of the nation for the Congress scheduled to hold in Kaduna state this coming weekend.
The group alleged that, “We have reliably gathered that Pinnick has budgeted the sum of N5 million for each participant at the upcoming congress in order to save himself from the imminent removal from office over the myriad of corrupt cases he is embroiled in.
“We call on all well-meaning Nigerians and sports stakeholders as well as the federal government to rise up and save the NFF from further decay before Pinnick finally sinks it into abyss.”
The group also urged congress members not to mortgage their conscience, saying money for development should not be used to bribe Congress members.
The group added: “We call on members to reject such bribes so as not to put themselves into trouble because taking such bribes will make our football and youths to suffer.
“Congress members must rise to save the NFF by standing firm against corruption in our football.”
While passing a vote of no confidence on Pinnick, the group said “Pinnick and co should go and appear in court to clear themselves of the corruption charges raised against them and we call on President Muhammadu Buhari to extend his zero tolerance to corruption practice to the NFF to rid the federation of corrupt elements, whose activities drag the image of the nation in the mud.”
Efforts to get the views of NFF President Amaju Pinnick on this matter yielded no results as he failed to pick his calls made to him at 2:04 and 2:21pm on Wednesday by our correspondent.
It could be recalled that Pinnick was last week kicked out as the CAF 1st Vice President by CAF President Ahmad Ahmad a development that made him to abnegate from his duty as CAF AFCON Organising Committee Chairman on the final day on Friday, July 19th.
Pinnick alongside other four key officials of the federation are also standing trials in Abuja Federal High Court in a 17-count charge bothering on misappropriation of billions of naira meant for football development in the country. A warrant of arrest was on July 1st issued on them by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu who adjourned the case till September 26, 2019.