President of the Nigeria Football Federation and FIFA Council Member,
Mr Amaju Melvin Pinnick on Monday inaugurated the local organizing
committee of the Aisha Buhari Invitational Women’s Tournament, saying
that values of integrity, diligence, hard work, probity and pursuit of
excellence should be the body’s watchwords.
“I want to emphasize on the need for this committee to always be
conscious of the name attached to this tournament. The name of Mrs
Aisha Buhari, First Lady of the Federal Republic, which is attached to
this competition stands for decency, uprightness and patriotism. We
should organize a tournament that upholds all these virtues and also
gives credence to the stature of Nigeria as a nation of intelligent,
knowledgeable and enterprising people.
“I enjoin you to work in close collaboration with the Lagos State
Government. We will also be doing everything to uphold accountability,
so your committee will have to work with NFF’s auditing and financial
advisers, PriceWaterHouseCoopers and Financial Derivatives
respectively. The NFF and the Nigeria Football family expect the best
from you. I inaugurate you on behalf of the NFF Executive Committee
and the Nigeria Football Congress.”
Pinnick also disclosed that the tournament will be an annual event.
Responding, Chairman of the LOC, Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi, assured
that the committee will work assiduously towards raising the needed
funds for a successful organization of the tournament, and also put in
place a structure that will engender diligence and probity, with close
attention to details and accent on proactivity.
“I am enamoured by the calibre of persons in this committee and I have
confidence that we will deliver a tournament to be proud of. It is
important to use this tournament to create one more positive narrative
about our country’s ability to deploy its teeming human and material
resources to make a statement.”
The committee immediately appointed Mr Ademola Olajire as the Director
of Publicity.
Present at the inauguration which was done virtually were Mr Pinnick,
Barr Akinwunmi, Dr Mohammed Sanusi (NFF General Secretary), Alhaji
Ibrahim Musa Gusau (Member), Ms Aisha Falode (Director of
Organization), Mrs Amina Daura (Deputy Director of Organization), Hon.
Ayo Omidiran (Member), Rt. Hon. Margaret Icheen (Member), AIG Umar
Baba (Member), Dr Mohammed Kamal (Member), Mr Ademola Olajire
(Member), Miss Kemi Areola (Member), Mrs Chisom Ezeoke (Member), Ms
Ese Okpomo (Member), Mrs Ufuoma McDermott (Member), Mr Olayinka
Olagbemiro (Member), Mr Kola Daniel (Member), Ms Ruth David
(Secretary) and Mallam Mohammed Ameenu.
