Le Guen Divides NFF as Pinnick Escapes Impeachment

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick narrowly escaped being impeached by his fellow executive committee members in the wake of the scandalous handling of botched appointment of French coach Paul Le Guen.

Wednesday’s executive committee meeting in Abuja was so stormy that at the height of the disagreement,  board members threatened to impeach Pinnick after they demanded to know the full details of the sponsorship deal he secured to cover the contract of a foreign coach. An official, who gave a graphic picture of the face-off, said Pinnick was “less than presidential” after his fellow board members threatened to impeach him.

“Pinnick cut a very, very pathetic picture when he was faced with impeachment as board members told him in clear terms they wanted to have all the details of the financials regarding the foreign coach the NFF plan to hire,” the official said. It was only after he promised to divulge all the details of the sponsorship that he was let off the hook.” Pinnick was badly ruffled and really shaken up after the meeting.

This latest row further underlines the serious cracks in the NFF executive committee and the ongoing power play there. And it comes only days before the much-advertised visit of FIFA president Gianni Infantino to Nigeria. Infantino is due in Abuja on Sunday on a two-day working visit during which he will pay a courtesy call on Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.