There are strong indications that heads may roll in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over the directives of the National Assembly (NASS) that the nation’s highest football governing body should give detailed account of how funds realised from other sources than the federal government were spent in 2014.
NFF board and management staff led by its vice president, Seyi Akinwunmi, and General Secretary, Musa Amadu, were at the NASS last Tuesday to defend their 2015 budget, but met a brick wall.
Already, NASS has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the NFF which will expire on Tuesday, March 17, over the issue.
Feelers reaching TheNiche confirmed that fear has gripped top members of the country’s football governing body over the directives, as they’ve also passed such to the president of NFF, Pinnick Amaju, who is outside the country at the moment.
Our source in Abuja revealed that all those directly connected with the issue are now running helter skelter to collate all they know about the grants and the role they played.
“There is perpetual fear in the secretariat since the directive was issued, and conclusion is that heads may roll at the end of the day,” said our source.
Chairman, House Committee on Sports, Godfrey Gaiya, while rejecting the 2014 budget appraisal submitted by the NFF last Tuesday, observed that the Glass House (NFF secretariat) only touched on budgetary allocation it received from the FG without mentioning how much it received from FIFA after the World Cup and sponsorships, among other external grants.
He said: “The leadership of the NFF is in a position to know that all the funds from FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) and CAF (Confederation of African Football) ought to be part of what is submitted to the parliament.
“Going by what you have presented in this document, one can see that you have just presented expenditure profile of funds you received from the federal government, but it goes beyond that.
“We are giving you seven days to come up with details of such grants and funds, including dollar components which you received from your affiliates and sponsors.
“It is within the constitution, captured by Section 80 of the 1999 constitution, that even if a gift is given to any government agency, such an amount must be appropriated and accounted for.
“I am saying this because I am in touch with sports and I know that NFF gets resources from other sources outside government, and I know our football is a big brand that has sponsors like Globacom, except you are telling this committee they have withdrawn from such sponsorship.
“I know you are affiliated to CAF and I know that CAF and FIFA, as your father and your mother, give you certain amounts of money. I want to wonder, if in 2014, no such money was collected. You have to explain to us because the documents before us didn’t capture all of that.”
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Gbenga Elegbeleye, who also led other management staff of the NSC to appear before the House, was cleared and he took a bow.
