NSC lobbies state FAs on NFF logjam, fixes meeting for 3pm today

NSC lobbies state FAs on NFF logjam, fixes meeting for 3pm today

Sequel to the meeting of the state Football Associations held yesterday, on line and their hardline posture, the National Sports Commission (NSC) has requested for a parley to iron out their differences with the new leadership Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

It would be recalled that the FAs had insisted that NFF leadership had no power to dissolve the Congress, with FAs constituting the bulk expanded congress and have written to FIFA to complain of the development.

According to the FAs, they are not against the Normalisation Committee being proposed but frown at the expressed dissolution of the Acting General Secretary of the NFF, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme.

However, before the close to the FAs meeting yesterday, the Director General of the NSC, Bukola Olopade allegedly got across to the FAs and requested for a meeting, slated for 3.00pm today, to finally harmonise the differences.

A source among the FAs hinted that they respect the position of the Federal Government as being propounded by the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the need to reform the football architecture in the country but that they are not happy with the sweeping dissolution of the Electoral Committee and the Congress as contained in the statement released by the new leadership of the NFF.

"We respect the position of the President, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu and we're ready to work with the NSC to reposition football but we will not take a back stage because we're the grassroots body responsible to the development of the game in the country.

"We're also not going to concede to the plan to reduce our membership of the Congress, instead the NSC should be ready to accommodate as much as other bodies like the lawyers, the Engineers and the marketers who are also important stakeholders in the football eco-system," the source said.

Meanwhile, contrary to the statement that FIFA has expressly passed the recommendation being proposed by the NSC, we gathered that, though the world football body welcomed the proposal, the NSC team was told to approach the Congress for a final resolution of the logjam.