The House of Representatives has decided to investigate Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over allegations of mismanaging $25 million in grants from international football bodies.
Gatekeepers News reports that the decision was made on Tuesday during plenary after lawmakers adopted a motion jointly sponsored by Adedayo Adesola and Nwaeke Uche.
Adesola, who represents the Apapa federal constituency of Lagos, explained that the funds were received from Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) and Confederation of African Football (CAF) between 2015 and 2025.
He said, “Between 2015 and 2025, NFF allegedly received development funds in excess of USD 25 million from FIFA and CAF with nothing tangible on the ground to justify the huge capital inflow from these soccer bodies:”
“In December 2016, FIFA sent an audit query over the mishandling of a US$1.1 million development grant to NFF and reported that US$802,000 lacked proper documentation, prompting sports minister Solomon Dalung to order an independent audit and ask NFF to account for receipts and disbursements.”
“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 monies.”
“One of these monies, a US$1.2 million, is the subject of a news item currently trending on social media, which NFF allegedly used to construct the Birnin Kebbi stadium.”
“A physical inspection of the stadium in Birnin Kebbi, as it is, shows a substandard facility in terms of quality and quantity, which cannot justify the sum of US$1.2 million claimed to have been spent on the project by the NFF, whereas the Kenyan Football Federation used the same amount of grant to develop a standard and well-equipped facility.”
Adesola emphasised the need to hold the NFF accountable to avoid the misuse of future public funds as preparations continue for upcoming African Cup of Nations and World Cup tournaments.
After Speaker Tajudeen Abbas put the motion to a voice vote, the house resolved to direct its committee on sports to summon NFF executives and investigate the alleged misappropriation of funds.
