The Chairman of Enugu State Football Association, Offor Okenwa, has hailed the re-election of Sepp Blatter as the FIFA President for a fifth consecutive term.

The election Congress was held on Friday in Zurich, the home of FIFA.

Okenwa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday from his Enugu base that Blatters’s victory was expected, particularly from the African perspective.

He said the African Football Confederation (CAF) had pledged all its 54 block votes to the 79-year-old, who he noted, had done so much to lift African football.

According to him, Blatter accomplished a lot with massive infrastructure development, through the FIFA-Goal Projects in many countries in the continent.

“He (Blatter) also supported this with many development projects in the form of like training, award of hosting rights and funding. This cannot be easily paralleled yet,” Okenwa added.

“It is only fair that Africans, just like many other third world countries, where he also impacted positively, pay back to a man that has done well to lift the ‘beautiful game’ in their domain.”

The 79-year-old Swiss, Sepp Blatter, was re-elected in a vote overshadowed by arrests and corruption allegations.

Blatter’s rival, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, had withdrawn to give Blatter victory, after the first round of voting had seen Blatter with 133 votes and al-Hussein 73.

The Swiss had fallen seven votes short of the two-thirds needed, but his challenger opted not to contest further.

Seven top FIFA officials had been arrested in Switzerland on Wednesday as part of a U.S. prosecution which indicted 14 people.

Blatter had then, as before, faced calls to resign, including from UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who said in Berlin on Thursday that the FIFA president should quit “the sooner the better.”

Speaking later, Blatter hailed his victory, thanking all those who voted from him and his rival.

He also hinted that this term in office, his fifth, could be his last, saying “at the end of my term I will give up FIFA in a strong position.”

The vote took place at FIFA's congress in Zurich and a candidate needed 140 votes to win in the first round.

The two candidates had earlier delivered final appeals to the electors. (NAN)

•Photo shows Blatter.

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