Kwande: The Emergency NFF President
There is fire on the mountain and so outgoing NFF President Amaju Pinnick and his men are running for dear lives to protect all they have put in place in the last eight years.
As a result, former House of Representatives Member Sulaiman Yahaya Kwande is now the last-minute option should Pinnick’s plan to install an NFF Executive Committee led by Ibrahim Gusau that he can control come September 30, 2022, back fire.
Things have been moving fast as the NFF Election approaches since Pinnick threw his full weight behind the Gusau group at the expense of his long-time ally Shehu Dikko.
A source revealed: “Kwande is the other option should for any reasons the Gusau group fails to fly when it matters most.
“Pinnick does not want be taken unawares by the Government and that is why Kwande was ordered to dump the first nomination form he got for a seat on the Executive Committee and pick one for the NFF Presidency.”
The Gusau group is very much aware of this plot and even put pressure on the NFF General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi to direct the Electoral Committee office to sell a second form to Kwande.
Ordinarily, Kwande should be expressly disqualified for this offence, according to the electoral guidelines.
But he will not be because the entire process has been compromised to ensure Pinnick continues to enjoy a strong grip on Nigeria Football even when he is no longer in office.
Kwande could now be an Emergency NFF President to serve other people’s interests.
The politician, who was elected into the House of Representatives through a bye election but failed to win a second term, is a son of former Ambassador Yahaya Kwande, who even at the grand old age of 90 is a leading political heavyweight in the Middle Belt.
He has quit the ruling party APC after claiming it does not have regard for those outside the realm of power.
The former Chairman of Mighty Jets of Jos at a time headed the very important NFF Finance Committee, before he was demoted to lead the media committee.
Despite his political pedigree, it could be said that Kwande has been a shy, easy-going person, very much invincible at the NFF in the last eight years until his now fire-brigade entry to the Presidential race.
