The ₦17 billion scandal highlights the NFF’s monopoly on power: Who controls the president?

The resignation of the Nigeria Football Federation, the NFF, the General Secretary and questions surrounding over ₦17 billion supposedly earmarked to settle players’ allowances, grants and outstanding debts have once again exposed a fundamental fault line in Nigerian football: too much power at the top, too little accountability at the grassroots.

As the country plans gambling reforms, the debate is no longer just about money. It’s about structure. Who really runs Nigerian football and who should control it?

The power of the NFF president

According to the 2010 NFF statute, the president is the chief executive and public face of Nigerian football.

He chairs the NFF Executive Committee, provides policy direction, represents Nigeria to FIFA and CAF and signs financial documents with the Secretary General. In case of emergency it can make decisions on behalf of EXCO, subject to ratification.

In practice, however, this office has become almost imperial. Because the president controls patronage, committee appointments, and access to government and corporate funds, most decisions come from the office. EXCO often ratifies, not debates.

That focus is good when there is transparency. It becomes dangerous when supervision fails.

What FA presidents should do and what isn’t being done

The 36 state FA presidents plus the FCT president are non-ceremonial. They constitute the statutory backbone of the NFF Congress, the highest decision-making body of the Federation.

What the statutes expect from them:

1. Congressional oversight: Approve budgets, audit reports and elect/remove the President. They are the employers of EXCO.
2. Basic development: Manage state championships, youth programs, referee and coach training. Football is growing from the States upwards.
3. Feedback loop: transmit the realities of clubs, players and coaches from their states to the national body.

What happens instead:
Many presidents have become an extension of the office of the president. Since elections in the NFF are determined by the votes of these same presidents, loyalty often trumps scrutiny. Congressional meetings are sparsely attended, debates are silent, and audit reports are approved with few questions.

The result: A ₦17 billion fund intended for players’ rights and other liabilities can be assumed to have been misappropriated without any immediate and structured response from the very body that should be asking the tough questions first.

Linking it to the $17 billion scandal

Players have been protesting against unpaid bonuses for years. Clubs have forfeited unpaid grants. Yet funds continue to be released by government and sponsors for “settlement of liabilities.”

When such large sums cannot be properly accounted for and the Secretary must resign, it indicates a system in which internal controls have failed. EXCO didn’t stop him. Congress didn’t see it early. The FA chairmen, who control the votes, did not ask for real-time accountability.

It’s not about individuals. This is a structure that allows an office to move money with minimal resistance.

Solutions: Reform Nigerian football

If Nigeria is serious about reforms, here are 5 steps that can restore balance:

1. Strengthen Congress and have it meet quarterly
   The Congress must stop being an annual electoral rite. Quarterly meetings with published budgets and audit questions will enforce transparency. Every kobo released must be defended before the 37 FA presidents.
2. Activate an Extended Congress
   An expanded conference that includes club owners, players’ unions, referees, coaches and representatives of women’s football will dilute the excessive concentration of power in the sole hands of FA presidents. Countries like Germany use a similar model where stakeholders, not just administrators, vote on key issues. It’s harder to compromise 100 people than 37.
3. Independent Finance and Audit Committee
   FIFA already recommends it. The committee should be made up of independent financial experts, not NFF board members, and should report directly to Congress, not the President.
4. Publish everything
   Player payments, grants to states, sponsorship deals. Put it on the NFF website within 30 days. In England, the FA publishes its annual report with line-by-line expenditure because football is a billion-pound business and public trust is important.
5. Term limits and separation of powers
   Limit the president to two terms. Separate the roles of political leadership and financial signatory. The GS and CFO should have independent mandates.

What we can learn from climates where football is big business

Look at Germany. The DFB is managed through a broad congress of regional associations, leagues and stakeholder groups. No single president can move funds without multiple approvals. In England, the FA board has independent non-executive directors and publishes accounts because the Premier League and the government require it.

Football there is treated as an industry, not as a private association. That’s why players get paid, clubs get grants and scandals lead to resignations and prosecutions, not just press releases.

Conclusion: too much football in one hand

Nigeria’s problem is not lack of money or talent. It’s too much football concentrated in too few hands.

FA presidents must decide: will they remain voting delegates or will they become true governors of the game in their states? An Extended Congress could be the cleanest way to break the monopoly, involve players and clubs and make the NFF President accountable on a daily basis, not just every four years.

Until then, 17 billion scandals will continue to occur. And the players, the very product of the game, will continue to pay the price.

As Nigeria plans reforms, the question is simple: do we want a Presidency or do we want a Federation?

Femi Amusan, a veteran journalist, is the National Treasurer of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN).