ONEYA, TORO JOSTLE FOR ADAMU'S CAF SEAT

Oneya & Toro
With the recent decision by the Court of Arbitration on Sports (CAS) that Dr. Amos Adamu stands guilty as charged by FIFA, a scramble has ensued in the domestic scene as to who will succeed him next year when his CAF seat becomes vacant.

Although Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) boss, Alhaji Aminu Maigari is said to be interested in the race also, he has not made his intention known to the public. He may decide to watch the drama as it unfolds before making his intention known officially.

It would be recalled that last year in Sudan, the NFF, under the prompting of the presidency, presented Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima to stand in as a CAF Executive Committee member pending the determination of the appeal by Dr. Adamu.

In Sudan, Nigeria met a brick wall when CAF President, Issa Hayatou, told the Nigerian delegation led by the then minister of sports, Professor Ladoja that to the best of his knowledge, Adamu was yet to relinquish his CAF seat and that until he does so, his seat remained occupied.

The Nigerian delegation was then advised to meet with Dr Adamu and seek his blessing. And Adamu was reported as been very angry that his fellow countrymen deemed him guilty even before the determination of his appeal by CAS.

The Nigerian delegation then decided, at short notice and against wise counsel, to contest for the FIFA seat, which was then available, and lost woefully.

With the official announcement that Adamu now stands banned for three years, a scramble has started to replace him, when the elections, which would be held next year in Morocco comess underway.

First to dust his shoes for the race was Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima, who is set to 'reclaim' his mandate.

Retd General Dominic Oneya, former chairman of Nigeria Football Association (NFA), is the latest to declare his interest in Gabon immediately after the CAF Congress, a very reliable source told Daily Sunsports that Gen. Oneya sitted at the same table with NFF President, Maigari openly and declared his interest and as well, asked for the support of the NFF.

Oneya argued that he was the most popular Nigerian in CAF presently and that as a member of the CAF Nations Cup Organising Committee, he stood a better chance of being elected.

Although Maigari was said to have nodded in acceptance, he is reported to have told confidants that Oneya seemed to have forgotten that his hob-nubing with the National Sports Commission to the detriment of the NFF.

Capitalising on that, is a former secretary general of the NFA, Alhaji Sanni Toro, who is set to ride on the believed unpopularity of Galadima and Oneya. Alhaji Toro is waging his strategy from the CAF statutes, where he wants to be nominated to take over the seat even before the elections to consolidate the position.

Alhaji Toro, whose relationship with Maigari cannot be said to be cordial (both hail from Bauchi), has started a reconciliatory move to win the favour of the NFF president, who inside sources said would not mind supporting 'the devil he knows'.

In CAF's circle, however, the battle looms large, as Adamu's apologists still believe that he's the only Nigerian that could win an election in CAF and would also rely on him because the voting pattern in an election is open to other contenders from the West African sub-region.