The Nigeria Football Federation and football stakeholder, Harrison Jalla, seems to have entered into a war of words over the genuineness of the former’s 2025 Annual General Assembly starting today in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
In a volte face yesterday, the NFF in a release , said the Ibadan gathering was not for “possible amendments to its Statutes” as widely being speculated in a direct reply to earlier concerns raised by Jalla.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there are no plans to amend the NFF Statutes at the 2025 Annual General Assembly, scheduled for 27 September 2025. Any suggestions to the contrary are unfounded,” the NFF noted inter alia.
“As part of standard procedure, a workshop will take place on 26 September 2025 with the participation of officials from delegates representing the Members of the NFF as well as FIFA and CAF officials. The purpose of this forum is to deliberate proposals for new NFF Statutes, in line with the principles of good governance and international best practices recommended by FIFA and CAF.
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“It is important to emphasize that this consultation process is still at an early stage. Only after a common direction is agreed upon with NFF Members may a General Assembly be convened specifically to consider and adopt the proposed Statutes.”
The NFF further noted that it was “ working closely with its General Assembly Members, as well as with FIFA and CAF, to ensure that all processes related to its Statutes are conducted with due process, transparency, and full adherence to global best practices.”
But in a swift counter claim, Jalla who is the Chairman , Board of Trustees of Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria(PFAN), believes the NFF is being economical with the truth over its genuine motives over the purported plans over the long overdue statues amendment , adding the current board of the NFF remains illegal.
He described the current Ibrahim Gusau-led NFF board as “illegal occupants” , stressing that no valid court order sustains their stay in office.
He claimed that the only order which allowed the September 30th, 2022 elections in Benin City had been discharged by the Court of Appeal in January 2023, leaving the board without any legal backing.
“The Gusau Board is in office today simply because this is Nigeria, where anything goes—and that is why our football is sliding down the abyss,” Jalla said in a statement late Thursday.
He further outlined his position, insisting that the present General Assembly, made up mainly of state football association chairmen, lacks the legitimacy to amend the federation’s statutes. According to him, only a properly constituted congress with equal representation from the five federating units of Nigerian football has the authority to initiate such reforms.
Jalla also warned that any attempt to hold amendments, seminars, or workshops under the current arrangement would be invalid, given that all matters relating to the NFF electoral process remain before the courts.
In a direct caution to international bodies, he told FIFA and CAF officials to refrain from lending legitimacy to what he described as a fraudulent process that produces “charlatans as leaders of Nigerian football every four years.”
“Enough is enough—we are taking our football back,” Jalla concluded, affirming that stakeholders will resist any attempt to circumvent the judicial process in the governance of Nigerian football.
