President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick has asked President Muhammadu Buhari for protection against corruption charges leveled against him by several anti corruption agencies in the country.
Pinnick made the revelation on Friday when he appeared on Channels Television breakfast programme “Sun Rise Daily,” in Lagos.He maintained that with his position both in CAF and FIFA,he ought to enjoy some privileges because he flies the Nigeria’s flag.
“Those of us in global picture,I am the first vice president of CAF and the president of AFCON,I am organizing this AFCON.I am a member of the organizing committee,I believe at this point that we should be protected because if you are talking about rebranding Nigeria,that is the first point of call. I give an example,when I go for meetings in the FIFA organsing committee, when they put the name Amaju Pinnick, they put Nigeria and not NFF.When I talk,I talk like a Nigerian.
We have instructed our lawyers to forward petition to the Presidency and the Attorney General for them to look at it critically.What we are passing through is a mere persecution and it hurts us.”Pinnick stated.
The NFF supremo blamed the crisis rocking Nigeria Football to some elements who he described as delusional to be behind the various corruption allegations leveled against him.
“We are dealing with a situation that we believe that at the end of the day it is either that Nigeria Football is a winner or loser when it comes to the crisis rocking Nigeria football.
They are major distractions in Nigeria Football,you know what is going on in Nigeria football.We ran for an election in September ,we won the election,even before the election,some of these people came,they tried to stop the elections,they couldn’t stop the election.