Reps to investigate FIFA’s $25 million financial grant to NFF

The House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted passed a resolution to investigate the sum of $25 million FIFA and Conferederation of African Football’s financial grant to the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF.

The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance sponsored during the plenary by the Federal lawmaker from Lagos, Adedayo Adesola and co-sponsored by his counterpart from Rivers, Felix Nwaeke.

Titled “Motion to sport further misuse of FIFA and CAF grants by Nigerian Football Federation,” Adesola noted that the mismanagement of grants by the global football governing body is largely responsible for the poor outings in recent times by the various national teams.

The sponsors of the motion recalled how a former football maestro and Super Eagles Captain, Sunday Oliseh recently alleged misappropriation of funds as hampering the growth of football in Nigeria.

The lawmakers said, Oliseh cited questionable handling of $1m the NFF got from FIFA to prepare the Super Eagles for the 2002 World Cup, revealing that the Nigeria Football Federal, NFF got $25 million between 2015 and 2025.
Hon. Adesola brought the attention of lawmakers to how FIFA queried the handling of $1.1 million development grant sent to NFF in 2016.

“FIFA sent an audit query over the mishandling of $1.1m development grant to NFF and reported that US$802,000 lacked proper documentation, prompting then Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, to order an independent audit and asked NFF to account for receipts and disbursements.”

“The House notes that between 2018 and 2019, NFF officials (including the then President, Amaju Pinnick) faced public criticism and were subject to EFCC and ICPC probes and court actions tied to alleged mismanagement of various funds and sponsorship.

“One of these monies, a $1.2m, is the subject of a news item currently trending on social media, which NFF allegedly used to construct a mini-stadium in Birnin Kebbi.

“We are concerned that a physical inspection of the stadium in Birnin Kebbi showed that it is a substandard facility in terms of quality and quantity, which cannot justify the sum of $1.2m claimed to have been spent on the project by the NFF.”

He added that with another Africa Cup of Nations coming soon and the World Cup play-off, both involving the Super Eagles, “There is a need to take decisive action on further misuse of public funds by the leadership of NFF.”

The motion was unanimously endorsed at the plenary presided over by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, and the House resolved to set up a special investigative committee to probe NFF finances from 2015 to date.

The House resolved to summon the leadership of NFF to the Committee for thorough investigation.