Contrary to its promise that the federation’s resources would be channeled towards the furnishing if its new Secretariat at the Package B of the National Stadium, Abuja, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has awarded a contract for the reconstruction of its Wuse Zone 7 offices, which were damaged by a mysterious fire on August 20, 2014.
The reconstruction, which is handled by Messrs Rati, a building firm at an undisclosed amount, came to many, even some members of the federation’s staff, as a surprise even as the federation had earlier taken receipt of the N50 million, promised it by Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, for the furnishing and movement to the new Secretariat.
The new secretariat was built and donated to the NFF by the defunct Presidential Taskforce on Super Eagles in 2013. The NFF had earlier in one of its board meetings, set up a committee, headed by the present general secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, to facilitate its final movement to the new Secretariat at the national stadium Defending the reconstruction work, Sanusi said it was approved by the NFF board to ensure that the three leagues, (NNL, NNWL and Women league), which are arms of the federation, moved into the premises when the body eventually relocated to the Sunday Dankaro Football House.
He added that the reconstruction would not jeopardize the federation’s plans to relocate to its new office, which he noted is still on progress. “We have the leagues which are all affiliates of the federation that would relocate to the Glass House as soon as we move to the new secretariat.
We do not want them to move in with the building still not reconstructed after the fire incident. Also, we will soon enter the rainy season; if the whole building is not taken care of now, the rains may damage the remaining part not affected by the fire.
“We are still focused on our plans to relocate to our new secretariat at the package B of the national stadium.
The reconstruction work going on here would in no way affect the plans because work is already going on inside the new secretariat. We have to put this place in order for the leagues who are expected to occupy it as soon as we relocate to the national stadium,” Sanusi stated.
