NFF Crisis: Dalung, Pinnick Meet Osinbajo In Aso Rock

In the wake of the August 20th deadline given to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) by the World football governing body FIFA to resolve its leadership crisis, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has met with the embattled President of the NFF, Amaju Pinnick and the Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung.

Pinnick-led executive members, which includes the NFF Vice President, Seyi Akinnwumi and the NFF Secretary General, Mohammed Sanusi were seen at the Council Chamber before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC), meeting.

After the FEC, the Acting President and the Sports Minister met behind closed-doors.

The meeting started at about 4:20p.m shortly after Dalung arrived the acting president’s office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Amaju Pinnick who is also CAF’s 1st Vice-President has been locked in a leadership tussle with the Chris Giwa’s led NFF board, after the Federal High Court in Jos on 5th June 2018 favoured Giwa.

The judgment led to fracas between the two parties as the Glass House secretariat of the NFF has been occupied recently at different times by both the Giwa and Pinnick factions.

Dalung had since after the court ruling backed Chris Giwa’s led executives, but FIFA backed the Pinnick led faction as the authentic leadership of the NFF.

FIFA had on Tuesday ordered Nigeria to hand back the leadership of the country’s football body to Mr. Pinnick on or before Monday or risk suspension from international football activities.

FIFA in a statement insisted on its stand that Pinnick was the only recognized President of the NFF.

“In line with art. 16 par. 1 of the FIFA Statutes, the Bureau of the FIFA Council decided that if by Monday, 20 August 2018, at 12:00 (CET), the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) offices are not handed back to the legitimate NFF executive committee under President Amaju Melvin Pinnick, who was duly elected on 30 September 2014, the NFF will be suspended with immediate effect for contravening art. 14 par. 1 i) and art. 19, as well as art. 14 par. 1 a) of the FIFA Statutes,” the FIFA statement had read.

Football fans in Nigeria hopes the meeting with the Acting President will resolve the crisis, just as the Super Eagles head into the African Nations Cup qualification series in September.