THE National Sports Commission (NSC) and some stakeholders in Nigerian football during the Senate Committee on Sports’ public hearing at the weekend kicked against the passage of the bill seeking full autonomy for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

If passed into law, the bill would grant the NFF president the power to sack or employ the general secretary of the federation by recommending such to the board.

Minister of Sports/Chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, told the Committee that the bill would reduce the commission to only financial control of the federation and would give absolute power to the federation’s president and board members.

Abdullahi, who received a round ovation from stakeholders, insisted that if the football federation has the status of a parastatal, it must be subjected to the normal ministerial supervisions.

Insisting that only financial control was not enough, the minister advocated for the inclusion of more regulatory powers to the commission.

He said, “I am happy that the NFF Bill that has been pending for a long time is getting to this stage. It is a symbol of your commitment and I want to confidently say that passing the bill would remain one of the major legacies of your tenure in the Senate.

“As you know, we have suffered greatly from the absence of this act and it has remained the fertile grounds for generating all kinds of crisis within the football cycle.

“Every single move the NFF made has been questioned and interrogated on the basis of the absence of the Act. This effort will help us to make progress and build a more tranquil system that will develop Nigerian football. NSC has reviewed this bill and as I said, we are happy that you provided this opportunity.

“However, one of the major things we noticed was that aside from the provision for financial accountability, there is virtually no role for the NSC in the bill. The challenge that we have therefore is how to reconcile the need for football in Nigeria to be governed virtually autonomously in accordance with the international statute governing the rules of the game and still ensure that this autonomy is embedded within the national authority within which we play the game in the country.

“As the bill is now, if tomorrow the honourable minister invites the president of the NFF to his office, he or any of his board members could respond out of courtesy or respect. This is absolutely nothing that obligates the president or any board member to respond to the minister’s invitation or take any policy directive from the minister.

“As one of the distinguished senators said, laws should be made for all times. Today, I, as the minister of sports enjoy excellent relationship with the NFF president and the board members. But, even as we do so, we must also bear in mind that Alhaji Aminu Maigari and his board members will not remain there forever.

“I will not also remain minister of sports forever. What if tomorrow, we have the president of NFF, who won’t want to work with anybody or recognise that there is an authority outside him to work with. I look at the provisions for financial regulations that provide for the NSC to have oversight function over the fund given to the NFF is spent.

“When we have a minister that sees himself completely powerless that he cannot influence the policy direction of the game in this country, but only rely on the financial regulation alone, it is potential danger. What if he uses this financial regulation power to frustrate the remittance of funds to the federation as the only power he has.

“I am sure that in that circumstances, everything will collapse. We know that the NFF does not have the muscle to raise the kind of fund required to run independently. This, I think is potentially problematic.”

Speaking in the same vein, former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports, Heineken Lokpobiri, said the powers the bill intends to give the NFF president and board must not be allowed, arguing that it could lead to a situation where a president can recommend the sack of the general secretary for such mundane issues like if he did not greet him.

He added that such bill would make the office of the general secretary vulnerable since the same president would endorse his appointment in the first place, suggesting that the bill could be structured in a way that the NSC would be responsible for the appointment of the secretary.

On the FIFA statute, which, according to the NFF, necessitated the clamour for name change, Kefas Magaji, who represented the Nigerian Law Reform Commission, stated that whereas some international laws could be domesticated, it must be done after careful study to ensure that it did not run against the interest of the Nigerian Constitution.

Former Minister of Sports, Hassan Gimba, also wondered why the same NFF that is always seeking government funds, wants to operate like an independent body and not like a parastatal of the government.