A Normalization Committee has been appointed by the FIFA Council Bureau to oversee the Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) operations while new elections are held for its Executive Committee.
In a statement, the NFF made this announcement, citing a letter addressed to Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme and signed by FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafström.
The letter states that FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will jointly appoint a suitable number of members to the committee as soon as possible.
Additionally, FIFA declared that none of the committee members would be able to run for office in the upcoming NFF elections.
Until the committee is appointed, the NFF Secretariat will continue to manage Nigerian football and the federation’s daily operations.
The decision comes after a string of events in Nigerian football administration in August, including the resignations of former NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi, and members of the federation’s Executive Committee.
Ademola Olajire was appointed interim Deputy General Secretary and Emmanuel Ikpeme as interim General Secretary by the National Sports Commission. Meanwhile, the NFF elective congress was postponed until reforms were completed.
A comprehensive reform of Nigerian football was also ordered by President Bola Tinubu, and the NSC was entrusted with collaborating with the NFF and involving FIFA and CAF in the process.
This is a commendable step toward promoting transparency and accountability ahead of the next NFF election. We hope and pray that the committee will carry out its responsibilities fairly and transparently in all its dealings.
