Sports
NFF Crisis: Buhari to the rescue as DSS ejects Giwa from Glass House
Chris Giwa and his board have been ejected from the secretariat of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on orders from the presidency.
Exactly three weeks ago, a fresh crisis hit the Glass House as Giwa, who had been demanding his right to the chairmanship position, arrived at the Secretariat with some security agents and assumed office as president.
His action followed a directive from the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, asking the Amaju Pinnick-led board to comply with the judgement of the Supreme Court, which restored the orders of the Federal High Court, setting aside the purported election into the Executive Committee of the NFF held on September 30, 2014.
Giwa and his board have since occupied the secretariat, and even made some appointments during the time, not minding the warning from FIFA, who had threatened to ban Nigeria if the situation was not resolved and Pinnick reinstated as president.
Read Also: Setbacks begin as NFF crisis impedes resumption of NPFL
But operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Monday stormed the offices of the NFF in Abuja to send Giwa and his board off, stating that they were working on instructions from above.
The Pinnick-led board has fully resumed work at the secretariat, and Secretary General Mohammed Sanusi is in charge while Pinnick is away supervising the CAF roundtable symposium on Africa’s performance at the recently-concluded 2018 World Cup.
The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) had been forced to postpone its resumption indefinitely due to the crisis in the football administration, as sponsors, partners and service providers reviewed their involvement.
But the tussle, which began back in 2014 and almost cost Nigeria its membership among footballing nations under FIFA, may have finally come to an end with the President’s involvement.
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