Nigeria: NSC ‘Interferes’ in NFF, NFA Crises

Daily Independent (Lagos)

Tony Ezimakor

25 May 2011

Abuja — For the second time in six months, it took the intervention of top officers of the National Sports Commission (NSC) for momentary respite to come to the embattled board members of the Aminu Maigari led-Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the parallel NFA been propelled by Jarret Tenebe and Harrison Jalla, President of the National Association of Nigerian Footballers (NANF).

Jalla had on Tuesday stormed the NFF glasshouse armed with a summons from the Inspector General of Police IGP Hafis Ringim, and claimed the Maigari and his men are illegally occupying the government property. He noted that by virtue of the September 26 nullification of the election that brought in the board and which has not been vacated, the NFF remain an illegal entity.

The NFF on their part rose from an emergency meeting and slammed life ban on movers of the parallel body.

But following the invitation and ominous possibility that FIFA’s hammer may descend on the nation’s football, the NFF again ran to the commission whose Director General Patrick Ekeji quickly intervened to settle the rift.

Sources at the meeting which the DG held with the IGP at the Force Headquarters Abuja, informed that Ekeji was said to have pleaded for a grace of one week to wade into the matter for final resolution. He thereafter summoned all the feuding parties to a crisis meeting in his office.

The meeting called for 4pm was the second time the DG had to intervene to save the life of the NFF board whose emergence analysts say was glaringly flawed.

Similar resolution between the two groups six months ago ended in chaos as the NFF failed to implement the terms of the agreement.

Until now, the NFF has always accused the NSC of interference in matter of football.

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