Former NPL chairman and NFF second vice president Victor Rumson Baribote
As the race for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) presidency gathers momentum, and in a bid to set the agenda on who should lead the federation, some sports journalists have tipped the former NPL chairman and NFF second vice president Rumson Victor Baribote as having the capacity to lead the federation.
In an interview with sports journalists, Core Reporters report that sports journalists wanted ex-footballers and as well as astute football administrators who have done well for the country to take over the leadership of the NFF
Micheal Obasi of Hot FM, Abuja said he would want to see a kind of leader who has what it’s takes to administer the game in the country to become the next NFF president.According to him, people like the former NPL and first vice president of NFF, Victor Rumson Baribote is the best candidate for the job. “I expect Chief Victor Baribote and others like him to join the race so that for once we may have good hands to administer football in the country on like what we have now.”
Obasi, however, regretted the current structure of the football associations in the country, adding that they have turn Football management in Nigeria into a cabal affairs. He therefore called on the government to wade in as the NFF elections beckon so that the right people will emerge to lead our football to the promise land On his part, the online Editor of Blue Print Newspaper and the secretary of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) FCT chapter, Ikenna Okonwko believes that the former NPL chairman, Victor Rumson Baribote is well qualified for the election and has acquired a lot of experience to lead the NFF.”Baribote was the former NPL chairman and NFF second vice president, so he knows how the game is administered and how the politics is played, I so expect him to know what he wants if he chose to join the race.”However, Folusho Alaide of Sport Galore agreed that the best leadership NFF could have now is ex-internationals, those who have played the game and are ready to give back to the society.
He noted that the likes of Victor Baribote, Davidson Owumi are good to lead the NFF because of their anticedents as players and administrators, stressing that the only way we can get things working well in our football is to let those who have business with the game to administer it on like the current jamboree in the NFF.Meanwhile, names like Shehu Dikko, Christian Emerua, Ibrahim Gusau, Yusuf Ahmed Fresh and a hosts of others are already dominating the space for NFF presidency.The election is billed to host in September this year’s bringing to an end the eight years of Amaju Pinnick led board
