Ado Salisu
Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Athletics and Other Sports Initiative, Hon. Ahmed Shuaibu Gara-Gombe, has warned against what he described as attempts by certain “cliques” to take over the administration of Nigerian football.
Gara-Gombe, a former Chairman of Gombe United Football Club, raised the concern while speaking with newsmen in Lagos, alleging that individuals who contributed to the problems confronting Nigerian football were regrouping under the guise of reforming the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
He said some individuals were currently in Zurich, Switzerland, allegedly briefing FIFA on the circumstances surrounding the voluntary resignation of the former NFF President, Ibrahim Gusau.
“It is unfortunate and sad that the rush to replace the Ibrahim Gusau-led NFF Board has clearly started to point at motives behind it.
“The motive behind it is never in the interest of Nigerian football and not in the national interest,” Gara-Gombe said.
He alleged that emerging developments indicated a calculated attempt by the same people who, according to him, contributed significantly to the decline of Nigerian football to regain control of the federation.
Gara-Gombe specifically mentioned the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko, former NFF President Amaju Pinnick and A.U. Mustapha, SAN, whom he claimed were part of efforts to establish a normalisation committee for the NFF.
“When I saw the names of these people, Mustapha was their lawyer. They once took him to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as one of their arbitration committee members, and now they want to bring the same A.U. Mustapha to head the NFF normalisation committee,” he alleged.
He described the individuals as a “clique,” adding that the only relatively new face in the group was the Director-General of the NSC, Hon. Bukola Olopade.
Gara-Gombe, however, acknowledged Olopade’s experience in sports administration, noting that he was a significant stakeholder in the South-West during his tenure as Commissioner for Sports in Ogun State.
“My advice for Olopade is to distance himself from the group for the sake of his dignity,” he said.
He urged the Federal Government to exercise caution in dealing with individuals presenting themselves as experts capable of reforming Nigerian football.
“If you want to reform Nigerian football, it is not these guys that would do it because they are part of those that destroyed it,” he said.
Gara-Gombe also criticised the appointment of former Flying Eagles coach, Fanny Amun, to head a panel constituted by the Gusau-led NFF to investigate Nigeria’s poor performances at continental and international competitions.
He questioned Amun’s suitability to lead the panel, alleging that the former coach had been away from football administration for a considerable period.
“When was Fanny Amun involved in football administration in and out of Nigeria? Fanny Amun has been out of the system for a long time, and I query why Ibrahim Gusau made the mistake of naming Amun to head that committee,” he said.
According to him, the controversy surrounding the committee’s report contributed to the subsequent criticism of the Gusau administration.
Gara-Gombe nevertheless defended Gusau, saying he was not aware of any action by the former NFF President that warranted the moves against his administration.
He argued that Nigeria had several competent football administrators, technical experts, club owners and media professionals, both within the country and in the diaspora, who could contribute to meaningful reforms.
“If Nigeria is looking for those to reform its football, it is definitely not these guys. They are out of it; they can’t reform anything. Rather, they are after selfish interest,” he said.
On reports that FIFA had accepted Gusau’s resignation, Gara-Gombe urged stakeholders to wait for an official position from the world football governing body.
He argued that FIFA did not elect the NFF leadership and therefore, in his view, should not be the body determining whether the resignation of the NFF President and his board should be accepted.
“FIFA has no legal right to accept the resignation of NFF President Gusau and his board because FIFA didn’t elect them into office.
“Why are people behaving as if there is no NFF Congress? It is actually the NFF Congress that elected and reserved the right to accept their resignation,” he said.
Gara-Gombe recalled previous disputes involving the NFF and government officials, including the controversy surrounding the attempt to remove the late former NFF President, Ibrahim Galadima.
He said FIFA had, on previous occasions, insisted on dealing with the recognised football authorities and the NFF Congress rather than government officials seeking to intervene in federation matters.
He also questioned why the Confederation of African Football (CAF) was allegedly sidelined in the current situation, arguing that the continental body should have been involved before FIFA.
Gara-Gombe called for fairness and transparency in handling the current crisis, urging FIFA to hear directly from Gusau and other legitimate stakeholders.
“I pray that someone won’t go to prison because of these things,” he added.