Court Ruling: NFF Begs For Dialogue

Things have fallen apart in the Glass House over last Friday’s court ruling, which declared the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, and the Victor Rumson Baribote-led Nigeria Premier League, NPL, illegal.

The Abuja Federal High Court presided over by Justice Donatus Okorowo declared that neither the NFF nor NPL had any statutory recognition and barred anybody from parading himself as officer of the bodies.

Chairman, Technical Committee of the NFF, Chris Green, said on Brila FM early today that the crisis was inherited from the previous board led by Sani Lulu.

“The truth of the matter is that we inherited this present crisis from the last board. We did not know that the matter would degenerate to this extent. We would have called Sam Sam Jaja and others in order to settle the issue because it is a family matter,” said Green.

Meanwhile, the General Secretary of the NFF, Musa Amadu, has offered an olive branch to the warring factions, describing the judgment as an announcement of an obituary of a loved one, which made everyone in the family to be sad.

He said so many people within the football family in Nigeria are not happy with this development, adding that it is very tragic when people in the same family are the ones fighting themselves to destroy the labour of their hands.

“The whole thing is so sad when people just want to spoil the work of their hands without a just cause.” Amadu said.

“Nobody is happy. Therefore, we appeal to the National Assembly to pass the bill that will give a permanent legal backing to the NFF and finally end this problem.

“It is high time football fraternities in the country came together to find a lasting solution to this crisis. We need to settle our differences in order for Nigeria to become the giant of African football once again,” Amadu appealed.

The football administrator appealed to the warring factions to sink their differences, saying the country’s football is greater than anybody.

“I want everybody to realise that our football is greater than any of us. That is why I am appealing to everybody to come together to settle these grievances for our football to move forward,” said Amadu.

—Bimbo Ajayi & Francis Achi /Abuja