Mark Baber
March 11 – Whilst the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) worries that its 2015 government grant of N1.2 billion ($60 million) is insufficient, its belated appearance before parliament on Tuesday proved a disaster as the Sports Committee insisted the federation provide full disclosure of its accounts – including how money from FIFA and sponsors has been spent.
After repeatedly ignoring parliament’s attempts to hold the NFF to account for how its money has been spent, in a year in which a mystery fire took hold in the NFF Accounts Office, NFF Vice President, Seyi Akinwunmi and General Secretary, Musa Amadu finally went before the Sports Committee on Tuesday in order to get the 2015 government grant of N1.2 billion released.
The attempt of Akinwunmi and Amadu to pass off partial accounts which only explained how government money had been spent ended in failure as the Chairman of the House Sports Committee, Hon Godfrey Gaiya insisted that the football administrators needed to provide full transparency, including of how World Cup money, CAF grants and fees received from corporate sponsors were spent.
Gaiya gave the NFF 7 days to come up with the figures saying: “I am happy that Musa Amadu is here and he is in a position to know that all the funds from FIFA and CAF ought to be part of what is submitted to Parliament.”
“I am saying this because I am in tune with sports and I know that NFF gets resources from other sources outside government and I know our football is big brand that has sponsors, like GLO except you tell this committee they have withdrawn from such sponsor.
I also know that you are affiliated to both CAF and FIFA and that you get certain amount of money as grants. You have to explain to us how you spent all that came to your federation because the documents before us didn’t capture all of that.”
The NFF delegation was also quizzed on the ongoing saga over the appointment of a coach, with Gaiya saying: “I am very concerned that we may have gotten over the crisis of leadership, but one crisis that is lurking now is even of a more serious magnitude than that of leadership. That is the crisis of who is our national coach.
“The average Nigerian on the street believes too that Keshi has done his best and it is time for him to take a bow. My committee believes that even when he has done his best, he should quit now that the ovation is loudest. You will agree with me that in the last 14 matches he has executed as Super Eagles coach, the results have been a dismal failure.
“I do not think as a committee that we can sit back here and watch the fortune of our darling national team go in tatters because somebody somewhere is not willing to do what is right. If the NFF lacks the capacity or boldness to tell Keshi to go that they don’t need him again, they should bring him before our committee so that we can tell him to his face.”
Whilst the NFF is clearly reluctant to provide its full accounts to parliament, the Sports Committee is in a very powerful position, in that if the NFF does not bow to its demands then the 2015 budget allocation to football may not be released. Notwithstanding his admission this week that he had spent money on “logistics” to win the NFF Presidency, Amaju Pinnick, and his brother-in-law Delta state Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghanare are hardly in a position to make up a N1.2 billion shortfall in the NFF finances.
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