Dikko confirms: members of the Normalization Committee cannot compete in the NFF elections

As we exclusively reported yesterday, National Sports Commission (NSC) Chairman Shehu Dikko has confirmed that FIFA has banned members of the soon-to-be-established normalization committee from participating in substantive elections.

Dikko made the confirmation in an interview on Channels Television, while speaking about the football reforms that the president has ordered following the resignation of the board of directors of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), led by Ibrahim Musa Gusau.

Senior NSC officials met FIFA at its headquarters in Zurich to brief them on proposed reforms to the NFF, following the resignation of members of the board led by Ibrahim Musa Gusau, including its secretary general, Dr Mohammed Sanusi.

FIFA approved the reforms but insisted that certain conditions be included before the election of substantive NFF members. The provisional agreement with the committee will last between six months and one year.

The head of the committee and other members will be appointed by the NSC but sent to FIFA for an integrity test, and FIFA will be responsible for their well-being for the duration.

Furthermore, FIFA made it clear that no one on the committee will be eligible to participate in the election of the substantive members of the NFF board of directors. A situation that has caused some people to withdraw their intentions to occupy the presidency.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman