NFF Crisis: Group Demands Probe Of ₦17bn, Total Restructuring

The Arewa Youth Sports Forum (AYSF) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently restructure the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and order an independent investigation into the utilisation of the ₦17 billion released to the federation in January 2024 for national-team allowances and bonuses.

In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Yohanna Pam, the group accused the Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau-led NFF board of presiding over what it described as systemic failure, financial recklessness and a lack of accountability in Nigerian football.

The forum said the Federal Government’s intervention was intended to clear outstanding bonuses and camp allowances and ensure adequate preparation for the country’s national teams ahead of international competitions.

However, it claimed that rather than improving the welfare of players and the fortunes of the national teams, Nigerian football had continued to experience setbacks.

The group cited the Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup as a major indication of what it described as the deteriorating state of the game.

“Instead of accountability, we are now faced with allegations of misappropriation of public funds. Instead of progress, we are faced with international shame as our Super Falcons were forced to drag the NFF to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, over unpaid bonuses and entitlements that the Federal Government had already released,” the statement said.

The AYSF alleged that the current NFF administration had become associated with allegations of corruption, lack of transparency, poor planning and what it described as executive arrogance.

The forum therefore urged President Tinubu to establish an independent panel to investigate the disbursement and utilisation of the ₦17 billion.

“We are calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, as the father of the nation and a leader committed to the Renewed Hope Agenda, to immediately set up an independent panel to investigate the disbursement and utilisation of the ₦17 billion released to the NFF in January 2024. Nigerians deserve to know where that money went,” it said.

Beyond the proposed investigation, the group called for a total restructuring of the NFF architecture, arguing that greater transparency, professionalism and accountability were required to restore confidence in the administration of Nigerian football.

It also advocated the inclusion of credible football stakeholders, former players, technical experts and youth representatives in the management of the game.

The forum criticised what it described as the recycling of political appointees at the expense of genuine football development and warned that continued administrative and financial problems could have serious consequences for Nigerian football.

It said sponsors could lose interest, emerging talents could be left without adequate development opportunities, while the passion of millions of Nigerian football supporters could be undermined.

“Nigerian football belongs to the people. The Glass House must be cleansed. The era of impunity, financial opacity and executive rascality must end now,” the group said.