President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive reform of Nigerian football following the national teams’ repeated failures to qualify for major international competitions.
The directive came on Thursday, shortly after Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and members of the Executive Committee resigned amid growing concerns over the state of Nigerian football.
The NFF confirmed the resignations, saying Gusau’s decision was aimed at paving the way for a “comprehensive and orderly reform process” to address the longstanding governance, administrative and developmental challenges affecting the sport.
Announcing the presidential directive, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the reform was necessary to help Nigeria overcome its repeated failures at regional, continental and global competitions.
Tinubu blamed the decline in Nigerian football on what he described as structural weaknesses within the system, noting that other sports had made progress following the restructuring of the sports sector under the re-established National Sports Commission.
The President said the reform should strengthen governance, administration, stakeholder representation, development pathways, domestic competitions and accountability across Nigerian football.
“Football, Nigeria’s most popular sport… has continued to struggle basically due to structural deficits within the system.”
The development is expected to usher in major changes in the administration and development of Nigerian football as the government seeks to address the issues affecting the country’s national teams and domestic game.
Source: The Presidency / Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
