Aisha Buhari, IGP, Others Listed For Nigeria Pitch Awards
First Lady, Aisha Buhari; Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba Usman; Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Amaju Pinnick and Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Sports, Daniel Amokachi amongst others, are among personalities listed for special honours at the 2022 Nigeria Pitch Awards.
Organisers of the awards, Matchmakers Consult, at a media parley in Lagos announced that voting for the eight edition of the awards would commence in the last week of October, adding that the award ceremony holds tentatively on March 26, 2022.
According to President of Matchmakers Consult, Shina Philips, the parley is the first in a series of engagements lined up towards the awards ceremony.
“Since the Nigeria Pitch Awards started, we have observed a renewed interest in identifying with a credible reward system by members of the football community, notably the Super Eagles, footballers, officials and sports journalists, who look forward to the yearly celebration of talents, industry, commitment and patriotism,” Philips said.
“In all, over 170 sports journalists across the country have been involved in the voting process at different times. This arguably is the largest pool of sports professionals in any award process in the country.”
Philips disclosed that the highlight of the award ceremony include the presentation of special achievement in sports award to First Lady, Aisha Buhari, who recently hosted an international invitational women’s football tournament.
“The Inspector General of Police, Alkali Usman, will be honoured with the sportsmanship award for his introduction of Operation Restore Peace in the Southeast and South South,” Philips added. “IGP Alkali is also a passionate supporter of sports as he demonstrated during the biennial Police Games in Awka in 2020.”
“Others to be honoured are the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sports, Mr. Daniel Amokachi, who played a pivotal role in Nigeria’s first World Cup appearance and Amaju Melvin Pinnick for his contributions to the advancement of Nigerian football, as well as his representation of the country at the highest level of world football.”
Chidi Nwoke/The Guardian.
