.Urges Hayatou to step down

By George Aluo

Related News

Veteran broadcaster, Danladi Bako has thrown his weight behind the move by President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick to be on executive committee of the Confederation of African Football ( CAF).
Bako who spoke exclusively to Daily Sunsports ahead of the CAF March 16 election in Adis Ababa, Ethiopia was equally quick in pointing out that the NFF president was right in queuing behind Madagascar’s Ahmad Ahmad who is Issa Hayatou’s opponent in the election.
Bako said he was taken aback by Hayatou’s decision to seek another term in office after leading the African soccer governing body for close to three decades.
He urged the Cameroonian soccer buff to change his mind and step down honorably rather than being disgraced at the polls.
“I really don’t understand why Hayatou wants to hang on after 29 years in power as CAF president. And this is a man that has not really done well on the job, given the face of African football. The only thing Hayatou can present in the last 29 years was Africa getting five World Cup slots. He has been a failure and I think he has no morale justification to seek re election for another term,” Bako said.
The former boss of Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) also took a swipe at the Hayatou loyalists in Nigeria, insisting that the group of Nigerians in CAF that are rooting for Hayatou do not mean well for Nigerian football.
“I make bold to say that Hayatou’s long tenure as CAF president has not benefitted Nigeria in anyway. If anything, Hayatou has been unfair to Nigeria because we know how many times Eagles were robbed of the Nation’s Cup victory under his watch.
Those supporting him in Nigeria have also like their master not used their position in CAF to raise the standard of the game in the country. What they have been pursuing in CAF have been their personal agenda which has seen some of them being banned by world soccer governing body, FIFA.”