Former FIFA and CAF Executive Committee member, Dr. Amos Adamu, has declared that former Abia governor, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu is a better candidate for FIFA top job than Chief Olusegun Odegbami.
He said: “If you put Odegbami and Kalu up for selection, for me I will sincerely pick Kalu as he has proven his integrity as a top-class administrator and in the area of marketing, he has also been there at the world level. So why won’t I support him for FIFA presidency.
“Odegbami proved his worth as a player on the field of play where he was fantastic no doubt about that. But he failed to translate this to the areas of administration and marketing.
I don’t want to support a candidate that would travel to two or three countries for campaign across the world and would start asking the people to raise funds for him to continue the campaign.
This is capital intensive and someone like Odegbami does not have the capability compared to the financial prowess of Orji Kalu who has a world-class airline business in another country and a chain of other multi-billion business empire.
Adamu who spoke from his base in Abuja added that: “In everything we do concerning the FIFA presidency, we must apply wisdom. Kalu has the administrative expertise and the financial weight to successful launch a campaign to run for the FIFA presidency.
“Those who are saying that I pitched my tent with Orji Kalu because I don’t see eye-to-eye with Odegbami are only telling lies. It’s only a figment of their imagination.
The former Green Eagles captain and I have a cordial relationship as we go to each other’s houses at will. We also communicate in Hausa as Odegbami speaks the language fluently.
“For me, I believe Nigeria can get the FIFA presidency and that is why I am supporting the former Nigeria Pillar of Sports to contest for the position.
I am surprised to hear Nigerians say Africa cannot produce the new FIFA president. It is possible with good articulation.
I will be happy if more Nigerians should come out to contest for the FIFA presidency. Nigeria is a football playing nation and we should put our acts together to take the world by storm by giving our total support to the former governor of Abia State.
“Don’t forget that when he was governor for eight years, he helped put Nigeria on the world map of football as he motivated a football club in the country to win an African club championship title twice which before then had been elusive to the country since independence,” the former WAFU president said.