House of Reps Sports Committee looks into NFF crisis

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Sports, Godfrey Gaiya, on Friday said the committee would utilise the appropriate machinery to ensure a rapid resolution of the Nigerian football crisis.

Gaiya said this was why the committee was meeting factions of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Congress, to be able to resolve the crisis next week.

The legislator who spoke after the committee’s emergency meeting with a faction of the NFF Congress in Abuja said the meeting was part of ongoing efforts.

“The committee will resolve the lingering crisis in the football house, and the crisis would be resolved according to NFA statutes and resolutions would be made next week,” he said.

NAN reports that the committee had on Thursday summoned both parties involved in the crisis to appear before it, alongside the Sports Minister, Tammy Danagogo.

“We will be guided properly, because we will be looking at the laws. I am a lawmaker and we will not tolerate a twisting of the law.

“Ours is to protect the laws that we enacted and to ensure that the statutes were not abused and to also ensure that guidelines are not turned upside down, for the benefit of all.

“So, we will review the statutes in handling the matter and come up with what the laws state as our resolution,” Gaiya said.

He added that the committee would, however, not be able to make any resolution yet, because all parties were not present for their case to be heard.

“The minister is excused from this meeting today (Friday) because the National Sports Commission (NSC) is out on tour, but the minister will be here on Monday.

“And for NFF’s General Secretary, Musa Amadu, he said he is down. So, we hope he will also be here on Monday.

“And, fortunately, those who came here for this meeting didn’t hoard any information. They spoke outrightly. That will enable us as a committee to sit back and analyse all they said and come out with a resolution.”

Gaiya said his committee would make public any decision arrived at afterwards, saying “we won’t say anything now until we have heard all parties out.”

NAN reports that those present at the meeting included former NFF Chairman Aminu Maigari and some members of his dissolved board.

Some state Football Association (FA) chairmen, as well as other members of the NFA Congress attended the meeting.