NFF board must resign, we need right people to run Nigerian football –Mikel Obi
Former Nigerian international player and captain, John Mikel Obi has joined the growing list of stakeholders of the round leather game in the country calling for the immediate resignation of the board members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over a lack of performance.
Mikel who made the demand as a guest on the Joy Sports’ podcast in Ghana on Sunday argued that there needs to be a change of guard at the NFF because there is an urgent need for Nigerian football to grow due to a lack of direction.
The former Chelsea player said that there are growing demand to ensure that the right people are put in place to run Nigerian football to grow and be better because Nigeria’s inability to qualifying for the last two World Cups is a shame.
He said, “We want changes in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) because we want to grow our football.
“We haven’t qualified for the past two World Cups, which is a shame. We cannot allow that to happen a third time.
“We have to ensure we get the right people to run Nigerian football to grow and be better.
“We want changes in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) because we want to grow our football.
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“We haven’t qualified for the past two World Cups, which is a shame. We cannot allow that to happen a third time.
“We have to ensure that we get the right people to run Nigerian football to grow and be better,” he concluded.
This comes days after FirstDailySports reported that the NFF led by Ibrahim Gusau is currently being probed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over the utilisation of a N12 billion Federal Government intervention fund.
The anti-graft agencies have both launched a concurrent investigation into the utilisation of the intervention fund released by the Federal government to the NFF meant for outstanding player’s wages, bonuses and other national-team obligations.
The investigation was confirmed by the NFF in a letter with reference number NFF/LEG/10/1/879 and titled, “Re: Application for disclosure of financial records and utilisation logs regarding the N12 billion Federal Government Intervention Fund released for players’ wages and bonuses,” dated August 18, in which it stated that all documents relating to the intervention fund are currently with the two anti-corruption agencies for scrutiny.
This development comes after the NFF board was reportedly given 24 hours to resign by the National Sports Commission (NSC) following a series of concerns over the administration of Nigerian football.
There have been growing criticism in recent times by football stakeholders over the abysmal performances of Nigeria’s national teams, including the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the Super Falcons’ historic failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup with many calling for the NFF board members to step down as soon as possible for the sake of the future of Nigerian football.
