FG may probe NFF finances

FG may probe NFF finances

 If a recent petition written to the Federal Government by a former group sports editor with ThisDay, Mr Olajide Fashikun is anything to go by, Aminu Maigari and his sacked NFF may be in for more trouble.

A Plateau court had on Thursday last week sacked Maigari's NFF after hearing a suit filed by Mrs Ebiakpo Rumson Baribote, the Chairman of Nembe City FC, who requested the court to restrain Aminu Maigari and all the committee and congress of the Nigeria Football Federation from managing the affairs of football matters in Nigeria.


Hon. Justice P. L Lot of the Plateau State High Court sitting in Jos granted the Order of Interlocutory Injunction restraining the president of the NFF, the executive committee members as well as the NFF Congress from running affairs of Nigerian football pending the determination of the Motion on Notice before the court.

The development then led to the suspension of Nigeria from all international football activities the world football governing body FIFA, on account of government interference which the body prohibits.

A Channels TV report online states that Fasikun wants the government to probe how the NFF used the multi-billion naira finances allocated to the football body in the last 24 months.

It has also been asked to look into the alleged fraudulent deal signed with the League Management Company (LMC) and with an advertising agency.

In the petition addressed to the Minister of Sports, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, Mr Fashikun wants an investigation into the $2 million paid by the Federal Government and $8 million paid by FIFA for the 2010 world cup in South Africa. He said that some players were still claiming that they not paid their participation fees for playing in the qualifiers.

Other dealings that may be probed include: the N790 million for the 2013 African Cup of Nations; the N170 million received for the 2013 FIFA confederation cup in Brazil and the money paid by FIFA for same; the $1.5 million grant given by FIFA to prepare the Super Eagles for the 2014 World Cup; proceeds from the sponsorship deals with Globacom, Guinness, Tomtom, Peak milk and Adidas; N1.288 billion being the sum of the monthly subvention received from government from January 2013 to June 2014.

Also in the list are N850 million Naira received from government for the preparation and participation of the Super Eagles in the first round of the 2014 FIFA world cup and the $8 million and $6 million expected revenue from FIFA for playing in the first round and qualifying for the round of 16 respectively.

He also wants a probe into the $1 million reserved by the Sani Abdullahi led board for the furnishing of the Sunday Dankaro House and secretariat of the NFF in package B at the National Stadium, Abuja.

The petitioner said he decided to call for the probe of the NFF leadership “as part of the desired changes which Nigeria’s sports deserve after years of maladministration and loss of focus by those saddled with the responsibility of developing sports”.

But would FIFA still not see the probe if instituted as a greater form of government interference?".