A five-man team from the Confederation of African Football arrived in the Federal Capital, Abuja on Thursday for a first inspection of facilities that Nigeria is putting forward to host the organisation’s 48th Ordinary General Assembly and the annual CAF Awards ceremony.
Two months ago, at the Africa Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya and following a request by CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe, the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, approved that Nigeria host the two major events.
Dr. Christian Emeruwa, CAF’s Head of Safety and Security, is the project lead for the inspection, and the team also includes Mohammed Bakeer (Technology), Inas Ahmed (Travel & Accommodation), Salah Mostafa (Transport) and Hervé Dassoundo (Branding).
On Friday, the team inspected facilities at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, and on Saturday will check out the showpiece Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre – the facility designated to stage the Congress – and the Transcorp Hilton Hotel.
The Congress is the largest non-competition event of the Confederation of African Football. Nigeria has hosted the CAF Congress only twice before – 1980 and 2009.
On Sunday, the team will fly to Lagos to inspect the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts (designated to host the CAF Awards), the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and the EKO Hotel & Suites.
The CAF team is being guided round the facilities by a five-man NFF team of Dr. Ademola Olajire (Director of Media & Communications), Mr. Alizor Chuks (Director of Marketing); Mr. Barnabas Joro (Head of Security); Mr. Emmanuel Ayanbunmi (Chief Protocol Officer) and; Mr. Tasiu Riskuwa Shehu (Head of ICT).
