The Guild of Sports Editors, the umbrella body of sports editors and managers in Nigeria, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what it described as a bold and courageous intervention to reform Nigerian football following the resignation of the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Rising from an emergency meeting on Friday, the Guild said the resignation of NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, the General Secretary and members of the Executive Committee must mark the beginning of genuine and far-reaching reforms rather than another change of faces.
The Guild said Nigerians have endured years of frustration as the country’s football fortunes declined, citing the back-to-back failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, Nigeria’s absence from the FIFA U-17 and U-20 World Cups, the decline of Nigerian clubs in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup, and the Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time in their history.
“The emotions and joy of Nigerians have repeatedly been shattered by the failures that have become our lot in football,’ the Guild said in a statement signed by its President, Tony Ubani.
It commended President Tinubu for having the courage to confront the crisis and urged the National Sports Commission, NSC, to ensure that the proposed Normalisation Committee is made up of people with proven integrity, competence, honesty and a genuine commitment to football development.
“The composition of the Normalisation Committee must not become another bazaar or an opportunity to compensate friends, girlfriends, political associates and cronies,” the Guild warned.
“Nigeria needs people with fresh ideas, proven competence and unquestionable integrity to lead this reform process. Those who have contributed to the mess Nigerian football has become must not be recycled.”
The Guild called for the committee to have a clearly defined mandate, membership criteria and timetable, warning that it must not become another permanent structure without a clear exit date.
It said the committee’s assignment should include a comprehensive review of the statutes and governance structure of Nigerian football, the establishment of a transparent electoral system and the creation of stronger accountability mechanisms.
The Guild also urged the reform process to resolve the fundamental legal question surrounding the identity and status of the football governing body, particularly the issues relating to the names Nigeria Football Federation and Nigeria Football Association.
“There is everything in a name. The legal foundation of Nigerian football must be properly addressed if the reforms are to stand the test of time,” it said.
The Guild further demanded a comprehensive forensic audit of the NFF’s finances, contracts, assets and activities and insisted that the resignation of the former leadership must not bring an end to ongoing investigations into allegations of financial malfeasance.
“Resignation is not immunity,” the Guild declared.
“Anyone found to have abused his or her position or mismanaged the resources of Nigerian football must be held accountable. Whoever has dipped his hands into the cookie jar must face the consequences of such actions in accordance with the law.”
The Guild urged the government and the NSC to consult FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), throughout the process, but warned that fear of sanctions should never again become an excuse for tolerating incompetence or impunity.
“Football autonomy must not be interpreted as freedom from accountability,” the Guild emphasized.
The Guild said it would closely monitor the selection of members of the Normalisation Committee and every stage of the reform process.
“We shall be watching. This opportunity must not be wasted or turned into another exercise in recycling the same people and preserving the same failed system under a different name,” it said.
“The objective must not simply be another election and another set of administrators. Nigeria must build a football system founded on transparency, competence, accountability and sustainable development.”
The Guild said President Tinubu’s intervention had provided Nigeria with a rare opportunity to rebuild its football and urged the Federal Government and the NSC to ensure that the reform process produces a lasting and irreversible change.
“Nigeria has suffered enough. Nigerian football must now be rebuilt.”