A Federal High Court in Jos passed a ruling which set aside the Fifa-approved Elective Congress of September 30, 2014, which produced Delta State FA Chairman Amaju Pinnick as President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). On Saturday in Windhoek, Namibia, Hayatou told Nigerian sports minister Tammy Danagogo in clear terms that the world was fed up with Nigeria’s incorrigibility in the area of football administration. “I had to plead passionately with FIFA President, Mr. Sepp Blatter not to take action on Nigeria on Friday, because Nigeria was in the final of the African Women Championship and a ban on your country would have been bad for the competition and our sponsors.” Hayatou said. “We all heard the news of the court ruling on Thursday, and the football world is angry with Nigeria. That is the truth. Issa Hayatou Says Fifa Wants Court Ruling Against NFF Vacated Before Monday. “The FIFA letter that came to your Federation before the elections of September 30 was very clear about an automatic suspension should there be any interference with the political process, and after the elections went ahead, we all thought you had settled your issues.” The CAF supremo, at a meeting that had Nigerian sports minister Tammy Danagogo, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Namibia, Ambassador Biodun Olorunfemi; Nigeria’s Deputy President of the CAF Appeal Board, Amanze Uchegbulam; CAF General Coordinator, Paul Bassey and CAF media committee member Aisha Falode in attendance, said there was no going back on suspension of Nigeria this week if football matters were not withdrawn from civil courts. “I appealed to FIFA to give until Monday for Nigeria to put its act together. After that, there is absolutely nothing I can do. It is all very disappointing because we have over 50 National Associations in Africa, but a big country like Nigeria is the one always giving us the biggest headache,” said a bitterly disappointed Hayatou. “Nigeria signed to be part of the football world by joining FIFA, and opted to abide by the FIFA –approved Statutes that you have. How many times do we have to tell your country that football matters are not taken to civil courts? “If Nigeria no longer wants to be part of the football world, then so be it.” NFF president Amaju Melvin Pinnick, who was, inexplicably, stopped by security operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on his way to Namibia on Friday night with the sports minister, monitored the meeting on phone. Falode, who spoke from Windhoek on Sunday, said it was obvious the Government of Nigeria has to now intervene to avoid the hammer falling on Nigeria football. “The future of millions of Nigerian youth is being put at risk by some persons who feel they have nothing to lose in the case of a FIFA ban. It is now for the Government to wade in,” she said. “If we got suspended from international football now, FIFA will not revisit the matter until their 65th Congress on May 29, 2015. That would be too bad for our country’s football.”
Credit: Informationng