CAF election: Did Pinnick defy Dalung to vote for Ahmad?

The events of Thursday will make it into the history books of African football, owing to the significant change in guard at the helm of affairs of Confederation of African Football (CAF).

After 29 years in control of CAF, Issa Hayatou was unseated by Madagascar’s Ahmad Ahmad.

Back home, Amaju Melvin Pinnick became the third Nigerian in history to join the executive committee of the CAF.

Pinnick defeated Anjorin Moucharafou of Benin Republic.

The late Oyo Orok Oyo was the first ever Nigerian to have made the CAF executive committee followed by the banned Amos Adamu.

The 2017 CAF election was particularly of interest to Nigerians, owing to the controversy over the candidate to back.

Hayatou or Ahmad?

AHMAD, IT SEEMED – AT FIRST

Weeks ago, TheCable had reported that the Nigerian CAF committee members, which include Amos Adamu, Sani Lulu, Aishat Falode, Aminu Maigari, Paul Bassey, among others, wanted Pinnick to vote for Issa Hayatou rather than his preferred choice, Ahmad.

Before then, Pinnick had gone on CNN to publicly declare the support of the Nigerian Football Federation for Ahmad.

But the CAF committee members insisted that Cameroonian Hayatou deserved the vote because he is a Nigerian-friendly president.

The Nigerian sports minister, Solomon Dalung, then waded into the matter and called a meeting where he declared that Pinnick was free to vote for his candidate of choice.

At that point and in the days leading to the election, it seemed Nigeria had settled on supporting Ahmad, but as the eleventh hour drew closer, a new situation arose.

A TWIST WHICH FAVOURED HAYATOU

Barely forty-eight hours to the election, confusion ensued after Dalung ordered Pinnick to vote Hayatou rather than Ahmad.

By then, Pinnick was already in Ethiopia where he was preparing for the election.

Around the same time, TheCable gathered that senate president Bukola Saraki was unhappy with the pressure Dalung was putting on Pinnick, especially after Ahmad had sought support from him and the sports minister, during a visit to Nigeria.

According to reliable sources, the turn of events and the change of support were a tad surprising to the Nigerian delegation at the Addis Ababa venue of the CAF congress.

“We were all shocked when we started reading an audio message of Whatsapp groups and social networks and conventional media stating that Dalung insisted Pinnick must not dare vote for Ahmad Ahmad,” a source told TheCable.

“Firstly, he had given Pinnick the go ahead to vote Ahmad and now doing a volte-face.

“The timing of Dalung’s new directive contradicted the new wave of most African Football Federations teaming up to vote out Cameroonian Hayatou who became CAF President in 1988 and known to employ tendencies of dictatorship, twisting rules to fit his sit tight manipulations and lots of intrigues.

“It was rather too late for Pinnick to switch allegiance to Hayatou as he was the leading figure in the campaign to chase Hayatou out of CAF.

“In fact, the possibility of Pinnick winning a seat at CAF depends on his support for the anti-Hayatou team.”

‘PINNICK DEFINITELY VOTED AHMAD’

Pinnick, besides being determined to support Ahmad, had also enjoyed the influence of FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, who never hid his dislike for Hayatou.

The Nigeria football chief had triggered the Infantino involvement when he brought him to Nigeria alongside African FA chairmen in a move that started the eventual fall of Hayatou.

Hence, it was a no-brainer for Pinnick to cast his vote for Ahmad, the source said.

“Pinnick most definitely voted Ahmad while assuring Dalung that he will go with his choice of Hayatou.

“Immediately Hayatou lost, it was very clear Pinnick had delivered on his promise to bring the decades-long Hayatou reign to an end and his loyalty was thus rewarded in kind.

“All these while he kept picking Dalung’s calls and promising to do the minister’s bidding while perfecting plans with his colleagues.

“And presently Hayatou is out of the picture and Dalung can do nothing to Pinnick as it is impossible to determine who Pinnick voted for with the “secret ballot” system of voting.

“Asides being a member of the new CAF executive, Pinnick has also the protection of the FIFA hierarchy and is already a member of FIFA competitions committee,” the source told TheCable.