For the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF and its affiliate body, the Nigeria Premier League, NPL, the ruling by an Abuja High Court declaring them illegal entities is like choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea.
Former chairman of the Nigerian Referees Association, NRA, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja threw the spanner in the NFF’s wheel of progress through the case it took to court against it two years ago. Dr. Jaja is challenging his disqualification from the NPL election, which was later won by Davidson Owumi. It did not take long for Victor Rumson Baribote, the current NPL chairman to later topple Owumi through the judgement of another court.
Justice Okorowo of Abuja High Court had granted the 10 reliefs sought by Dr Jaja, noting that the NFF was not known to Nigerian laws. The court upheld that the only legal instrument by which football is administered in the country remained the Nigeria Football Association, NFA, empowered through NFA Act CAP 2004 as amended.
As if that was not enough, the court granted Jaja’s prayer asking the court to declare his disqualification in the NPL election null and void. The justice further held that the Federation of International Football Association FIFA, NFF and NFL statutes on which football was administered in the country were illegal. Justice Okorowo ruled that until the FIFA statutes which the Nigeria football authorities hold sacrosanct, were domesticated in the nation’s legal statutes, it can not have force in Nigeria.
The case against the Nigeria Football League Limited was that the name under which the NPL was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, was not a legal person at the time it joined the NFA as one of the registered trustees of the company, NFL Limited. Consequently, he directed that the company, NFL, should wind down since it failed to meet relevant provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA.
The refusal of the NFF to heed the advice of the National Assembly is believed to have fetched them the ant infested firewood. The Football federation had earlier been told by the Senate committee on sports then led by Senator Heineken Lokpobiri to immediately revert to Nigeria Football Association, NFA, which is the legal and constitutional identity the football house was known for, if it has any hope of getting future budgetary allocations. But knowing that the NFF would not abide by the directive, the committee warned that lawless display by the football body would not be condoned any longer. The committee rued the action of the FA saying it was criminal. They wondered why it should continue to collect federal government allocation in the name of NFA only to spend same in the name of NFF.
The football house rebuffed all suggestions and appeals for it to revert to its legal name. The immediate result was the inauguration of a splinter group led by Jarret Tenebe. That was the beginning of the current crisis which appeared to have been settled by the court.
Sacked NFF President Sani Lulu was the architect of the problem. Lulu was afraid that FIFA, which detests government interference in the running of football could land its sledged hammer on the country’s FA after government failed to abolish Decree 101, which allows government to supervise the football, house through the sports ministry. Lulu used the congress of the football association to transform its identity. For Lulu and co, the fear of FIFA was the beginning of wisdom. They fought the battle until they were kicked out of office.
The wisdom they claimed to have acquired disappointed Lulu and his lieutenants shortly after Nigeria crashed out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa. The board refused to give account of the N1.25billion given to it for Super Eagles trip to the mundial. Nigeria crashed out of the first round of the tournament, but instead of rendering account to the federal government, the NFF brandished FIFA statues, while it siphoned government money.
Even the former minister and chairman of National Sports Commission, Yusuf Suleiman, had pitched tent with the lawmakers urging the NFF to revert to its legal name.
“For us, it is NFA but if they want to change their name, it is something we have to work together to ensure that the appropriate laws are amended,” Yusuf assured.
Even as the fate of the NFF hangs in the balance despite its appeal of the ruling of the Abuja High Court, chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Sports, Hon. Geofrey Gaiya, has revealed that the bill for the change of nomenclature from the Nigeria Football Association, NFA, to the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, was passed by the sixth assembly but could not be presented for presidential assent because it was loaded with grievous errors.
Hon. Gaiya, revealed that the bill, apart from being scanty in content (three paragraphs), sought not just to change the name of the association to federation, but ostensibly to subjugate the football federation by making it a department in the National Sports Commission.
“The sixth assembly had passed a bill for the change of name of the NFA to the NFF. But we are glad it was not signed into law because it would have created more problems than it was meant to solve. The bill, apart from having just three paragraphs, wanted the NFF returned to the National Sports Commission as a department. It would have meant the loss of autonomy and perhaps another round of conflict in Nigeria football. So, with the expiration of the sixth assembly and I, as the only surviving member of the House committee on sports, I had to retrieve the bill for reintroduction but not without making the necessary changes,” Gaiya said.
According to him, the new bill will be largely different in content with only the change of name from the association to federation and thus ensuring that the present conflict over the legality of the NFF is resolved forthwith. Hon. Gaiya’s position was in reaction to comments credited to Maigari, explaining that the change to NFF was in compliance with a FIFA’s directive that the football house should be in conformity with the rest of the 208 affiliates known as federation.
The change of name has been the bone of contention between the NFF and a parallel NFA led by Harrison Jala on the grounds that the football federation does not enjoy statutory recognition, and therefore should not be appropriated public funds. Either way, only God knows if the Maigari-led board will go the way of its predecessor’s, Lulu.

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