From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Former General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Musa Amadu, yesterday, formally declared his intentions to contest the federation president for the September elective convention scheduled for Benin, the Edo State capital.
The event marking the declaration was a gathering of all the major stakeholders, ranging from football administrators, to ex-internationals and members of the State Football Associations.
Speaking during the declaration, Amadu urged the football stakeholders to retake the game, promising to bring something entirely new to the office.
“To get it right, my plan is to lead a team that must strive to achieve the “vision to restore Nigeria football glory. A Musa Amadu presidency will be accountable to the nation. We will be transparent and judicious in our use of the FIFA Forward Funds that come from Zurich; and work very hard to draw sponsorship to supplement what FIFA does for us. We will operate more transparently to earn the trust of our stakeholders, sponsors, government and ultimately the over 200 million Nigerians who love the round leather game. Again, we just need to get it right,” Amadu charged.
He said: “It is time to bring those glory days back, and I will not relent until we win trophies back in this country. No disrespect to other nations, but Nigeria has to take pride of place at elite level, making podium appearances at most tournaments at all levels.
“I will set up a National Teams Management Board that will oversee all Team Nigeria matters beyond just the playing side of things, and bring back the glory days. Those days that we got used to while I was General Secretary must come back,” Amadu declares.
“NFF cares for the people through football. We will maintain partnership and create an NFF/government liaison structure that is workable, as has been working in many countries I have had the opportunity to visit and understudy. It is not rocket science,” he said.