Nigeria is again in danger of being banned by world football body FIFA after the government appointed a sole administrator for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Thursday after a court sacked the executive committee.
Nigerian sports minister Tammy Danagogo on Thursday appointed Lawrence Katiken to run the country’s football after a high court in Plateau State granted an injunction stopping elected NFF president Aminu Maigari, his executive committee and the NFF congress from office.
This is a direct interference by government in football, which FIFA frown at and which has attracted their wrath often in the form of a worldwide ban.
FIFA equally kick against law court for the resolution of football matters.
The country was threatened with a FIFA ban in 2010 just after the Super Eagles crashed out of the 2010 World Cup hosted by South Africa.
This was as a result of the federal government’s decision to withdraw the country from all international competitions for two years and sack the NFF management.
The government also called for a corruption probe of the NFF.
However, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan will later rescind this decision for FIFA to spare the country.
But later in 2010, the FIFA hammer finally fell on the country when top Nigeria FA officials were dragged before a court.
The ban was only quashed when the court ruling was set aside.
It has been learnt that an NFF congress has been called for later Friday in Abuja, but this was most certainly not by the NFF president Maigari, who has the power to do so and who is only expected back in the country from the World Cup in Brazil on Friday.
Nigeria reached the knockout stage of the World Cup in Brazil for only the third time in their history after they did so in 1994 and 1998.
Last year, the country also won the Africa Cup of Nations as well as a fourth FIFA U17 World Cup.
The four-year tenure of Maigari’s executive committee will run out at the end of August and elections to the board are slated for Warri then.
An electoral body has been set up in this respect and forms for candidates have since gone on sale Source:http://africanfootball.com//news/436477/Nigeria-risks-FIFA-ban-again