•NSC summons NFF

FINALLY, the hammer of the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) fell on Nigeria yesterday.

The world football regulator blacked out the country from global competitions.

The decision to black out the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), which was taken after the world soccer ruling body’s emergency committee meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, was not unconnected with government’s interference in football administration.

Apparently disturbed by the development, the Director- General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Patrick Ekeji, yesterday summoned top officials of the NFF to appraise the sanction.

Yesterday’s ban was the second time FIFA will be axing Nigeria.

About two decades ago, the nation was banned from international football, following discrepancies in the ages of three Nigerian youth players namely Dairu Sadi, Andrew Uwe and Samson Siasia.

According to a statement posted on its website, FIFA said that the latest decision followed the intractable crises in the nation’s football house, including litigation and court action against the election of NFF executive members.

The court had restrained the elected members from exercising their functions and duties, the stepping down of the acting NFF General Secretary on the instructions of the NSC, the decision of the Minister of Sports, Ibrahim Bio, to have the Nigerian League start without relegation from the previous season, and the fact that the NFF committee cannot work properly due to this interference.

According to the statement, the suspension will remain in force, until the conclusion of the judicial process and the duly elected NFF executive committee was allowed to function to work without any interference.

For as long as the suspension lasted, the NFF will not have any representation in any regional, continental or international competitions, including at club level and in friendly matches.

In addition, neither the NFF nor any of its members or officials can benefit from any development programme, course or training from FIFA or CAF while the federation remains suspended.

Shocked by the FIFA action, the Minister of Sports and the management of the NFF went into a closed-door meeting which lasted for several hours.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Compass authoritatively learnt last night that the sports minister, who doubles as the chairman of the NSC and Ekeji, met the NFF acting General Secretary, Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme, Head of Competitions, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi and Assistant General Secretary (ASG) Technical, James Peters, behind closed doors at the Conference Room of the sports ministers at the Federal Secretariat in the Garki area of Abuja.

NFF Chief Media Officer, Robinson Okosun, confirmed the FIFA sanctions, saying that the nation’s sports authorities were still studying it and will make appropriate response very soon on the issue

As at press time, the NSC and NFF chiefs were still locked up in the closed-door meeting, trying to find a way out of the logjam.

Reacting to the development, FIFA/CAF executive member, Dr. Amos Adamu, literally approved the ban when contacted on phone yesterday.

Adamu said: “I don’t know what to do again. I have consistently advised them against what they are doing, but they won’t listen to me. Some of them even said I was talking rubbish.

“Some even said FIFA should ban us. My conscience is clear. The ban would have come earlier but I have been pleading to them (FIFA) that they should give us time.”

Also speaking, respected football technocrat and FIFA technical advisor, Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, expressed shock over the latest development.

He said: “It depends on what we make of it. There is absolute need to reorganise our football. But how we handle this situation is what is more important to me.”