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Tag: NFF President

  • FG charges Pinnick with $8,400, N4bn fraud

    The Federal Government has charged the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick and four others with an alleged misappropriation of $8,400 belonging to the football body.

    In a 17-count charge, marked, FHC/ABJ/CR/93/2019, filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday, the money was said to have been paid by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to the NFF as appearance fees in the group stage of the Russia 2018 World Cup.

    Named with Pinnick in the charge are NFF Secretary, Sunusi Mohammed; the 1st Vice-President, Seyi Akinwumi; the 2nd Vice-President, Shehu Dikko, and an Executive member, Yusuff Fresh.

    REad also: Obaseki, Pinnick extol late Esther Rewane’s contribution to societal devt

    The defendants were also accused of “moving dishonestly and intentionally the sum of about N4billion” belonging to the NFF without the consent of the NFF.

    The five are also accused, in the charge filed by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), led by Okoi Obono-Obla, of failing and neglecting to declare their assets.

     

  • Policemen storm NFF to arrest Pinnick, others

    Security personnel attached to the Presidential Investigative Panel on Friday invaded the Nigeria Football Federation to effect the arrest of the NFF President, Amaju Pinnick and four other top officials.

    The Policemen who were armed arrived the NFF glasshouse at about 11am with a warrant of arrest to pick up Amaju, NFF first and second vice presidents, Seyi Akinwunmi, Shehu Dikko, NFF Secretary general, Mohammed Sanusi and NFF technical committee chairman, Ahmed Yusuf Fresh. Unfortunately, none of them were around.

    A source who witnessed the drama informed said the security guards at the federation made an attempt to challenge the policemen, but had to withdraw after they shown the warrant of arrest.

    Read also: We are accountable to people — NFF

    “They searched the offices and did not find anything or the people they were looking for, after the security guards allowed them access.

    “I just wondered what would have happened if they were around,” our source said.

    Recalled Chairman of the panel, Okoi Obono-Obla had on Wednesday said the five officials must clear their names following alleged fraud, mismanagement and misapplication of funds leveled against them.

    But they failed to show up thus leading to the panel applying the use of force.

  • NFF Crisis: Ex-internationals urge parties to avoid FIFA ban

    Two ex-internationals, Friday Ekpo and Bright Omokaro, have urged the Ministry of Sports and individuals involved in the ongoing Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) crisis to tread with caution to avoid FIFA ban.

    The ex-internationals gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Saturday.

    NAN reports that FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, had said on Friday said that the world football body recognises only Amaju Pinnick as NFF President and would not accept any outside interference in the organisation’s affairs.

    Read Also:Nigeria risk ban over NFF crisis – Infantino

    Infantino, while responding to questions at a news conference in Moscow on Friday, said Pinnick was duly elected and in accordance with FIFA rules.

    Ekpo, a former Super Eagles player, said that FIFA statement on the ongoing crisis showed that a ban is inevitable if the issue was not urgently resolved.

    He said that such crisis which had become a regular occurrence in the country’s football over the years had done a lot of damage to football development.

    “This ongoing confusion or crisis in Nigeria football is dragging the sport back.

    “FIFA has spoken and as a member of the body, we should comply with the rules and regulations governing FIFA if we don’t want to be suspend,’’ he said.

    The former player said that Pinnick should be allowed to end his tenure, saying it was the only solution to the ongoing quagmire.

    Omokaro, also told NAN that the crisis should be worked out amicable to avoid the wrath of FIFA.

    He said that the suspension of the country from FIFA would cripple football in the country, urging all parties involved to take precaution.

    “Issues like this require diplomacy and this statement attributed to the FIFA President shows that they are fully aware of the drama going on.

    “The funny part of it is that those in the middle of the crisis have never played football, so they are after their own selfish interest.

    “If anything goes wrong, history will judge them but if they want the best for the sport, they must resolve it as quick as possible,’’ he said.

    Chris Giwa and the Amaju Pinnick-led NFF board have been involved in a leadership tussle, after an order from a Jos High Court had stopped the election which brought Pinnick to office in 2014.

    NAN reports that the crisis took a new dimension on July 2 when Giwa resumed at the NFF office in Abuja, as the president of the body after the Supreme Court judgement in his favour.

     

  • Serbia Courts Super Eagles For Friendly

    Serbia Courts Super Eagles For Friendly

    Ahead of the Russia 2018 World Cup, the Republic of Serbia, are searching for preparatory opponents and Nigeria is one destination, according to the President of the Serbia-Nigeria-Chamber of Commerce, Dr Temi Gold.

    The highly cerebral  Isoko mogul told a select group of journalists that the time has come for Nigeria to explore all avenues for growth in the country and that sports, especially football is one of the areas.

    He revealed that contacts are being made at the highest level for a friendly match between Nigeria and Serbia and that talks are ongoing between the NFF and his. I can assure you that we are in contact with the NFF President, Mr Melvin Amaju Pinnick, he has assured us that we can work together. “We are also talking to the Technical Committee Chairman, Barr. Chris Green, and we are getting closer.

    The NFF President, himself confirmed to the media that all doors are open for the Super Eagles to play friendlies and he has been talking all parties.  “As it clicks, including the game against Serbia, we will open up. It’s really work in progress for us at the  NFF.

     

  • Giwa threatens return as NFF President

    Another round of confusion seems to be in the offing or Nigerian football as the Chris Giwa-led ‘board’ of the NFF have stated that they will be resuming at the Glass House this week, ‘to fashion our plans and programs to reposition our football and get us back on track’.

    This, the Giwa faction claims, is coming on the heels of the Amaju Pinnick led NFF’s failure to set up an arbitration panel to hear the cases and petitions against the conduct of the September 30, 2014 elections that brought about the Pinnick board.

    After holding a meeting last Saturday in Abuja, the Giwa faction has resolved to resume operations at the secretariat of the Nigeria Football Federation, the Glass House, on Thursday, January 15, 2015.

    Below is the communiqué issued by the Chris Giwa led faction after their meeting last weekend:

    The Board of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) under the leadership of Ambassador Chris Giwa met in a brief emergency meeting on Saturday morning in Abuja, resolved as follows:

    1. We express our appreciation to His Excellency, the President & Commander–In-Chief of Armed Forces, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan  (GCFR) for his fatherly role in creating room for resolving the crises that have engulfed the Nigerian Football family. His unrivalled interest in repositioning football in Nigeria is known to Nigerians both at home and abroad.

    2. We acknowledge that a lot of resources have been committed to Football administration at different levels in the country and as such every patriotic Nigerian should be interested in what goes on in the Glass House, Abuja.

    3. Nigerians will recall the previous issues that led to the last crisis which necessitated Mr President to personally intervene. He advised the factions to take immediate steps to amicably settle all the issues. This consequently led to our withdrawal of the matter we instituted in the court of law, just to allow for peaceful resolution to the crisis in the football family.

    4. Some persons approached the Elections Appeal committee leading to two sets of decisions emanating from the Appeals Committee which further caused confusion and compounded the problem.

    5. Some persons approached FIFA in respect of the two sets of decision for direction and FIFA replied on 18th December, 2014 stating without equivocation that they lack jurisdiction to hear the matter as it was purely an internal matter within the confines of the NFF and advised internal mechanisms which exist in the NFF Statute in resolving the logjam be employed.

    6. Consequent upon this, the persons approached the NFF secretariat requesting for the creation of an Arbitration Tribunal set out under Articles 68 and 69 of the 2010 NFF statutes, which is one of such internal mechanism to address their grievances.

    7. After much dilly-dallying, the factional board led by Mr Amaju Pinnick met among other things and rejected the request to fester their factional interest.

    8. With this show of recklessness and crass violation of the NFF statutes, it is without any iota of doubt that the Amaju Pinnick factional board does not want peaceful resolution to the issues.

    9. Having exhausted all available internal mechanisms for amicable settlement of the logjam, our board have resolved that we shall hold our regular board meeting on the 15th January, 2015 at the Glass House to fashion our plans and programmes to reposition our football and get us back on track.

    10. We wish to thank fellow Nigerians for the patience, prayers and support for justice, equity and fairplay.

  • Giwa won’t be nominated for NFF President

    Giwa won’t be nominated for NFF President

    Plateau State FA chairman, Sunday Longbap, will not nominate owner of Nigeria Premier League club, Giwa FC, Chris Giwa, for the post of NFF president because he was indicted by a government white paper for financial mismanagement, among other charges.

    Longbap has reportedly refused to nominate Giwa amid threats to his life and he has cited the indictment by a government panel of the club owner as the main reason for his “stubborn” refusal.

    A six-person fact-finding team led by M.T Ahmadu on Plateau United FC indicted Giwa in a White paper published in October 2004.

    “Chris Giwa and his management team of five persons should refund to the government the sum of 2.5 million Naira being the money they could not account for,” read part of the 23-page government white paper.

    The NFF also suspended Giwa for six months and banished Plateau United to Akure after he invaded the pitch to threaten the referee to cancel a goal scored by Dolphins against Plateau United.

    Among other charges against Giwa were –

    – He displayed an act of arrogance when interacting with the NFF disciplinary committee in Abuja

    – Failure to redeem welfare packages promised to the match officials

    – Lack of transparency and disrespect for laid down rules and regulations of the game

    – He was proud and boastful claiming to have sufficient funds to fly his team to any part of the country to play and win

    The white paper also said that under the leadership of Giwa, the club were bedeviled by many shortcomings ranging lack of transparency, lack of financial prudence and lack of proper records of accountability.

    The committee noted that the Giwa-led management officials received twice what the players received as match bonus.

    The players got 5,000 Naira as match bonus for a home game, while the management officials were paid between 10,000 and 20,000 Naira for home matches.

    There were also un-receipted expenses for “public relations” and adverts in the mass media as well as inflated costs for both home and away matches as well.

    The fact-finding committee was set up in the wake of the poor performance of Plateau United in the Nigeria Premier League despite a huge investment by the Plateau State Government.

    “Despite the huge sums of money released to the club this playing season, the club was faced with so many crisis ranging from administrative to technical problems, which resulted in the suspension of the chairman and later on the suspension of the acting chairman (Chris Giwa) and the technical crew respectively,” reported the committee.

    Giwa has been sold by some top NFF secretariat officials and ministry chiefs as “the government candidate” to head the new executive committee of the NFF come the August 26 polls.

     

  • NFF President, Board sacked

    NFF President, Board sacked

    • As Minister appoints Katiken as Ag SG

    The Executive Committee of the The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) headed by its President Aminu Maigari received a shocker ahead of its August Board election as Justice P.L Lot of a High Court sitting in Plateau State granted an Order of Interlocutory Injunction restraining Aminu Maigari and his Executive Committee members and the NFF Congress, from running the affairs of Nigerian football forthwith, pending the determination of the Motion on Notice before the court.

    Following this declaration, the Sports the Minister, Tammy Danagogo, has also directed through a letter personally signed by him and addressed to the most senior officer in the Federation according to civil service dictates, Mr Lawrence Katiken to take over the running of the NFF administration until the deterimination of the suit filed by the Owner of Nembe Football Club, Mrs Ebiakpo Rumson Baribote.

    A copy of the letter instructing Katiken to serve as the Acting Secretary General signed by the Sports Minister reads as fiollows: “Further to Suit No. PLD/J 342/2014 and an order of mandatory injunction, issuing from Hon. Justice PL Lot,….you  (Lawrence Katiken) are hereby directed to act as Secretary General of the NFF, and to take over the full management of the NFF.

    “You are to hold this position pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice in the referenced suit”.

    The Owner of Nember FC, Mrs Ebiakpo Rumson Baribote (Plaintiff) had through her Counsel, S D Ekara, holding brief of T D Quidon Esq, filed a Suit No PLD/J 342/2014, asked the  Court to grant an Order of Interim Injunction restraining the 2nd Defendant, (Alhaji Aminu Miagari) and all the Committee and congress of the 1st Defendant (the Nigeria Football Federation) from further controlling, commanding or managing the Affairs of the 1st Defendant and all Football matters in Nigeria pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice for Interlocutory Injunction filed in this case.

    In his declaration, Justice P.L Lot, stated “That Interim Injunction is granted restraining the 2nd Defendant, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, and all other purported members of the Executive Committee and Congress of the 1st Defendant (NFF) from further Controlling, Commanding or Managing the Affairs of the 1st defendant and all Football matters in Nigeria pending the hearing, and determination of the Motion on Notice.

    “An Order of mandatory injunction is granted compelling the 4th Defendant (Minister of Sports) to appoint a senior members of the civil service in the 1st Defendant (NFF) to command , control and manage the Affairs of the said 1st Defendant and the  Football matters in Nigeria pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice i this matter”.

    Justice Lot has therefore fixed July 11, 2014 for hearing on the Motion on Notice.