Gara Gombe Defends Gusau Over World Cup Failure, Accuses Pinnick Of Lingering Influence In Nigerian Football

Former Chairman of Gombe United Football Club, Ahmed Shuaibu Gara Gombe, has renewed his defence of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Ibrahim Musa Gusau over the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, while accusing former NFF President Amaju Pinnick of continuing to wield undue influence over Nigerian football.

In a statement issued in Abuja, Gara Gombe, who is also the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Athletics and Other Sports Development Commission, an advocacy group promoting transparency and accountability in sports, claimed that recent comments made by Pinnick had reinforced his long-held position that Gusau should not be held responsible for the country’s World Cup disappointment.

According to Gara Gombe, remarks allegedly made by Pinnick during an interview on Arise Television, in which the former NFF boss described himself as a “life president” of the federation and disclosed that he still maintains regular contact with Super Eagles players, raise serious questions about his continued involvement in the affairs of the national team.

He argued that such comments suggest Pinnick still exerts considerable influence over Nigerian football despite leaving office more than four years ago.

Gara Gombe questioned whether any former football federation president elsewhere in the world would publicly describe himself in such terms, saying the comments portrayed Pinnick as believing himself to be indispensable to Nigerian football.

He further alleged that Pinnick’s admission of maintaining regular communication with Super Eagles players implied he retained significant access to, and influence over, members of the national team.

The former Gombe United chairman also revisited Pinnick’s previous public claim that he instructed former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr to include what he described as “my player, my quota” in Nigeria’s squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

According to Gara Gombe, the statement fuelled concerns about interference in player selection during Pinnick’s administration.

He also criticised the former NFF president for allegedly remaining silent when Super Eagles players threatened to boycott Nigeria’s World Cup play-off over unpaid bonuses and allowances, arguing that Pinnick should have used his reported influence to help calm the situation.

Gara Gombe maintained that blaming Gusau for the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the World Cup ignored what he described as deep-rooted structural problems inherited by the current NFF leadership.

He insisted that Gusau assumed office with existing challenges and had been working to stabilise the federation rather than exacerbate its problems.

According to him, many of the issues affecting the national team predated the present administration, warning that unless Nigerian football addresses its underlying problems, the country risks missing another FIFA World Cup in 2030.

Gara Gombe also alleged that individuals responsible for previous failures within Nigerian football were now attempting to shift blame onto the current NFF leadership.

He called for greater honesty and accountability within the sport, insisting that Nigeria must confront the real causes of its recent disappointments rather than engage in what he described as political scapegoating.

Neither the Nigeria Football Federation nor Amaju Pinnick had responded to Gara Gombe’s claims at the time of filing this report.