Former President of the Nigeria Soccer Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has hit again at rising criticism surrounding the FIFA Aim Mission in Kebbi State, describing the allegations of monetary mismanagement as “fully misconstrued” and politically pushed.
The previous NFF boss, who oversaw the preliminary implementation of FIFA’s infrastructure growth programme in Nigeria, insisted that each stage of the venture adopted world greatest practices and was carried out below FIFA’s direct monetary supervision.
Pinnick clarified that no extra funds had been requested or disbursed past the accredited $1.2 million allocation, even after the venture suffered delays throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These claims are fully false and with out advantage,” Pinnick stated in an announcement. “FIFA maintains strict oversight of all Aim Tasks, from planning to completion. Each greenback spent is audited and accounted for. The Kebbi facility adopted due course of, and the venture was duly accredited, monitored, and licensed by FIFA.”
He dismissed comparisons between Nigeria’s Kebbi venture and Kenya’s 60,000-capacity stadium presently below development, describing them as deceptive. “The Kebbi venture is a FIFA technical centre, not a authorities mega-stadium,” Pinnick defined. “It’s absurd to equate two fully totally different initiatives in each scale and funding.”
Pinnick additional expressed disappointment at how misinformation has been used to discredit soccer authorities at a time when the nation ought to be uniting behind the Tremendous Eagles forward of their essential World Cup playoffs in Morocco subsequent month.
“This isn’t the time for baseless distractions,” he warned. “Our focus ought to be on serving to the Tremendous Eagles qualify for the World Cup, not tearing down progress with false narratives.”
FIFA’s Aim Programme was launched to assist creating nations construct soccer infrastructure, with Nigeria among the many first African international locations to profit from the initiative within the early 2000s.
