By Joe Apu
The race for the Vice Presidency of the African Taekwondo Union (AFTU) is heating up ahead of the Elective General Assembly scheduled for April
24, 2025, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with the incumbent Vice President Nigeria’s Jonathan Nnaji seeking re-election.
Nnaji, Sunday Sun Sports has learnt is in the for re-election and is navigating to get back his position given the significantly altered electoral landscape following a recent constitutional changes.
Under the new World Taekwondo and AFTU statutes, zonal vice presidencies have been abolished, creating a more competitive eld with 10 candidates from across Africa vying for the position. Despite the intensied contest, the incumbent remains steadfast in his campaign, leveraging his experience and deep-rooted knowledge of the sport at both national and continental levels.
As part of his strategic approach, he has embarked on an ambitious pan-African tour, engaging with stakeholders across the continent. Having already visited Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa) and Rwanda (East Africa) and is now preparing for trips to Egypt (North Africa) and Botswana (Southern Africa) to be followed by Equatorial Guinea (Central Africa). The only region he will not visit is the Island zone.
With the election just weeks away, the Vice President remains optimistic about his chances, emphasizing that adequate resources and strong support will be key to securing victory and as such is calling on the leadership of the National Sports Commission that is powered by the duo of Alhaji Dikko and Bukola Olapade.
The call is coming on the hills of the recent failure of Amaju Pinnick, former president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), who narrowly lost his bid for re-election into the FIFA Council.
Pinnick did not secure enough votes to retain his seat among the six electable African representatives on the council at the 14th CAF Extraordinary General Assembly held in Cairo, Egypt, Pinnick garnered 28 votes – just one vote short of Mauritania’s Ahmed Yahya and Djibouti’s Souleiman Waberi, who secured the final two available slots.