Duro Ikhazuagbe
No less than nine members of the Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are believed to have signaled their intentions to quit the board in the face of mounting criticism over the federation’s poor handling of the country’s football administration.
THISDAY learnt at the weekend that the 13-member NFF board that has Ibrahim Musa Gusau as President with two vice presidents and 10 others, have met and considering the options of resigning en-masse despite initial plans to have most members returned to office at the election scheduled for September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
A top level sports administrator who confided in THISDAY, insisted that this option is believed may pave the way for a Normalisation Committee to run the country’s football for the next couple of months. “During this period, we expect a new governance structure to be put in place to midwife a new board for the NFF. We expect also for the new board to be a departure from what Nigerians have been used to in the last two and half decades,” observed the official.
Although some names have been speculated to lead the Normalisation Committee, he was categorical that none of those listed in the media reports will be in the committee. He declined to give out any name as consultation was still ongoing as there may be changes before the list is announced.
Before Super Falcons’s failure in Morocco, the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico.
The inability of the Super Falcons to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup sparked the pressure for the NFF board to quit office. The team was dismal in Morocco, failing to reach the semi final of the 2026 WAFCON as well as also failing to pick ticket to the World Cup for the first time since the inaugural edition of the women’s Mundial in China in 1991. The country’s men’s U20 and U17 have similarly failed in Africa and also failed to qualify for the global level.
Although the NFF board later fired the fumbling Falcons coaching crew led by Justin Madugu, football stakeholders were not impressed, thereby calling for a total clean up of the NFF to pave way for a breadth of fresh air.
The country’s two anti-graft agencies, the EFCC and the ICPC, have equally stepped into the financing of football at the NFF. The two agencies last week moved into the federations offices in Abuja to check how government’s N17billion released for the prosecution of the 2023 AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire, the 2026 World Cup qualifiers as well as the 2025 AFCON in Morocco was spent.
Both Gusau and the General Secretary of the NFF are believed to be amongst those who have agreed to quit the federation.
A former Super Eagles Captain, John Obi Mikel in his latest Obi One Podcast, restated his stand on why the NFF board should exit the federation now for fresh leadership to restore the country’s football fortunes.
Mikel warned that Nigeria risk missing a third consecutive World Cup after failing to qualify for the 2022 and 2026 editions if Gusau is allowed to return for another four years in office as NFF president.