NFF board appointment an oversight, says Dalung

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung has called on football stakeholders to remain calm as efforts were being made to correct an oversight made following the recent appointments into the board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

The Federal government announced on Friday the appointment of over 1,000 members including 209 board chairmen to fill boards and government parastatal positions including the Nigeria Football Federation, the National Youth Service Corps, the National Institute for Sports and the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre which are all under the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.

But Dalung in a statement said that the appointment of members into the NFF board by the Federal Government was an oversight, as by virtue of their statutes, members are elected and not appointed.

“The recently released board members of NFF is an oversight which is being sorted out. NFF is governed by statutes and board members are elected by congress and not appointed.”

He appealed for calm from all stakeholders as it was an administrative oversight adding that efforts are tailored towards addressing it very soon.

The Minister also stated that government and Football’s governing body FIFA were in talks to clarify the issue and assure them that no harm was intended.

“I have spoken with FIFA Secretary General over the situation in Nigeria and conveyed Federal government’s commitment to uphold the governance structure of the Nigeria football Federation.”