Nigerian Football
Seven Years After, Lulu Still Bitter Over Removal As NFF Boss
BY TUNDE SHAMSUDEEN.
The first person to be addressed as President, when the then Nigeria Football Association (NFA) changed to Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in 2008, Sani Lulu Abdullahi, said he is still pained by the way and manner he was impeached and removed from office in 2010, after serving meritoriously for four years.
Lulu expressed his bitterness while featuring as a guest of the Osun State wing of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN)’s monthly stakeholders’ forum tagged “Osun SWAN Platform” in Oshogbo.
According to him; “As I am talking to you here, I am not a happy man because some people sat and stopped me from giving my service, my sincere service to my great country.
“Temporarily, in my life, one minute in 24 hours, I can say I am a very pained man. I am always bitter, especially since I am still facing court prosecution on allegations of mismanagement of funds.
“I sometimes have to trek to Abuja while members of my administration, impeached with me, have to spend money to come to Abuja to attend court proceeding that had been on since I was removed in 2010.”
He said despite all that happened; he is still a patriotic Nigerian who believes in the fight against corruption of the current administration, stating that he is optimistic, that soon, the fight would extend to his case and he would be vindicated of the charges against him.
“To show that I am innocent, the congress of the NFF impeached me in July 2010 but they quickly retracted the impeachment by December of the same year after I took the case to Court of Arbitration for Sports.
“I should be recalled as the NFF chairman after my impeachment was retracted but nothing of such was done but instead, the EFCC was invited to investigate me and the NFF did not come to my defence.
“I am battling bitterness with this development but I remained prayerful and patient because I know God will vindicate me and I also believe that this present administration that doesn’t condone corruption will bring out the truth in my case” he said
Lulu however said he had put behind any ambition of returning as NFF chairman, either now or in the future, because he has nothing to go and pick in the Glass House but would rather concentrate on his Football Academy (Fosla) as a way of giving back to Nigeria.
Lulu established Folsa Football Academy in 2010/11 in Abuja (to assist and develop talented indigent secondary school students) after leaving the NFF, where he served as chairman from 2006 to 2010.
The miserable run of Akwa United and Ikorodu City came to an end after six games in the Nigerian Premier League this season. Both teams were initially glued at the bottom of the league table.
They now got respite as Akwa United beat Kano Pillar by 2-0 while Ikorodu City even did what could be considered an upset, beating Bendel Insurance 3-0.
Remo Stars bounced back to the top of the log after a 3-0 defeat of Nasarawa United. Shooting Stars are yet to get their rhythm this season, playing a barren draw with Enyimba in Ibadan.
Kwara United who got their first full points of the season last week after a 1-0 defeat of Remo Stars could not consolidate as they were beaten 1-0 by Abia Warriors.
Heartland under Emmanuel Amuneke are gradually recovering as they got a valuable away draw against El-Kanemi Warriors.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
It is 75 years since Nigeria’s national football team first played an international match. That was on 8 October 1949 when the first set of Nigeria’s assembly on their return voyage stopped over in Freetown and engaged Sierra Leone in an international football match. Nigeria won 2-0, setting a chain of positive results on 8 October.
The country never lost any competitive duel on that date. More significantly, the Super Eagles first qualified for the World Cup on an 8 October date.
That was in 1993 when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria in the quest for USA ‘94 World Cup.
Nigeria became the first English-speaking African country to qualify for the World Cup. Another significance of the October 8 match at the July 5 Stadium, Algiers is that Nigeria were unbeaten for the first time by Algeria at home.
The only deviation from the 8 October Magic was in 2015 when Nigeria lost 2-0 to Congo in a friendly match.
Twenty-six years after Nigeria’s debut international match, one of Africa’s biggest football nations, Egypt fell to the October 8 magic, losing 4-0 to Nigeria in the last stage of the triangular World Cup qualifying series for Argentina ’78.
Up till October 15, 2013, when Ghana beat Egypt 6-1 in Kumasi, the October 8, 1977 duel with Nigeria remained Egypt’s biggest loss in a World Cup qualifying match.
Before the 1977 duel, Nigeria in 1963 played a friendly match with Liberia in Monrovia. The October 8 magic was active, even in an away match. Nigeria drew 2-2 in their very first encounter with Liberia. It was shortly after the team had, through a protest, upturned a victory by Guinea to pick Nigeria’s very first African Nations’ Cup ticket.
Little wonder then that when FIFA suspended Nigeria in 2010, the world governing body provisionally lifted the ban on October 8!
Nigeria on 8 October
- 1949 – Freetown (Friendly) Sierra Leone 0-2 Nigeria
- 1963 – Monrovia (Friendly) Liberia 2-2 Nigeria
- 1977 – Lagos (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 4-0 Egypt
- 1993 – Algiers (World Cup qualifier) Algeria 1-1 Nigeria… qualify for USA ‘94.
- 2005 – Abuja (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe
- 2010 – FIFA, in apparent respect to the 8 October magic, provisionally lifted a ban imposed on Nigeria.
- 2011 – Abuja (African Nations Cup qualifier) Nigeria 2-2 Guinea. Although undefeated, Nigeria failed to make it to the 2012 African Nations Cup.
- 2015 – D.R. Congo beat Nigeria 2-0 in Visé, Belgium. The ‘October 8 Magic’ is finally broken.
Rivers United have launched themselves to the top of the log at the end of the match day 5 of the Nigeria Premier League. The Port Harcourt side beat Akwa United 2-1 to go afloat after initial leaders, Remo Stars crumbled to a 1-0 defeat at Kwara United in Ilorin on Sunday.
It was Remo Stars’ first defeat in the season. Rivers United are now with 13 points. Stephen Mayo put Rivers United ahead after 31 minutes. But it turned a temporary lead as Akwa United bounced back almost at the blast of the referee’s whistle for the second half.
Friday Apollos levelled up for Akwa United before Ndifreke Effiong Udo scored the winner in the 85th minute.
Sunday Results
- Kwara United 1-0 Remo Stars
- Rangers International 1-0 Abia Warriors
- Heartland FC 2-0 Niger Tornadoes
- Kano Pillars 2-0 Sunshine Stars
- Plateau United 1-0 Ikorodu City
- Rivers United 2-1 Akwa United
- Enyimba 3-0 Katsina United* Suspended
- Nasarawa 0-0 Bayelsa United
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