..Bid Committee Writes Cameroun, Ghana, Others

Nigeria has formally obliged Cameroun, Ghana, Benin Republic and Togo written request intimating them with the invitation for co-host bid for the 2010 World Cup finals.

Cameroun and Benin Republic had made rambling complain that they were not formally intimated with the joint bid proposal, which Nigeria submitted to FIFA on December 31.

Secretary of the World Cup Bid management Committee, Dr. Ahmed Tijani Yusuf confirmed yesterday that the letters were formally forwarded to the four countries after the federal government gave its blessings on the proposal.

The former NFA scribe and sports ministry's deputy director said Nigeria could not have written to their football federations without getting the formal approval of the government.

The blessing eventually came penultimate day when the Bid Committee met the vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and received government's nod to throw Nigeria's hat into the ring along with Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and South Africa.

Consequently, the approval emboldened the committee to consign formal letters inviting the four countries for a bid proposal.

FECAFOT boss, Alhaji Iya Mohamed had said that Nigeria was yet to notify Cameroun with a formal letter for a joint bid for the 2010 mundial while Benin Republic and Ghana expressed the views that the failure to give them invitation seem tantamount to disregard.

Nonetheless, they all acknowledged that Nigeria had earlier paid them a visit at which the proposal was first put across to them.

Tijanni Yusuf confirmed "the ministry set up a technical study group which carried out feasibility studies, visited those countries and made report to the ministry. During the visit the bid proposal was generally discussed and it received positive responses from them.

But the bid committee could not have written to them soon after the submission of the proposal to FIFA because we needed the blessing of the government, which we received yesterday (penultimate day) when we visited the Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar."

He went on to say that apart from the letter, the committee has equally used the e-mail and fax to forward the required letters of invitation.

Following government's green light on the bid, Yusuf said the committee would next week embark on visitation to these countries to meet with their respective governments and football federations to discuss on salient issues on the bid proposal.

He assured that seemingly slight on the four countries would be addressed even as Yusuf called on Nigerians to rally round the committee for the success of the bid.

Nigeria had put forward a 5-Nation bid to host the 2010 World Cup finals, which FIFA has conceded to Africa in line with its rotational policy.