Guild of Sports Editors Demands Credible NFF Reform Committee, Warns Tinubu Intervention Must Not End in Another ‘Bazaar’

The Guild of Sports Editors, the umbrella body of sports editors and managers in Nigeria, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his intervention in the crisis engulfing Nigerian football, but warned that the opportunity for genuine reform could be squandered if the proposed Normalisation Committee becomes another vehicle for political patronage, personal interests and the recycling of failed administrators.

Rising from an emergency meeting on Friday, the Guild said the resignation of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, the General Secretary and members of the Executive Committee should not be treated as the end of the crisis, but as the beginning of a fundamental restructuring of Nigerian football.

The Guild stressed that Nigerians are tired of seeing leaders leave only for the same system, practices and personalities to return under different arrangements.

‘The emotions and joy of Nigerians have repeatedly been shattered by the failures that have become our lot in football,’ the Guild said in a statement signed by its President, Tony Ubani, citing the Super Eagles’ back-to-back failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, Nigeria’s absence from the FIFA U-17 and U-20 World Cups, the declining fortunes of Nigerian clubs in CAF competitions and the historic failure of the Super Falcons to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

While applauding President Tinubu for having the courage to confront the crisis, the Guild issued a strong warning to the National Sports Commission (NSC) over the composition of the proposed Normalisation Committee, insisting that its credibility will determine whether the reform exercise succeeds or becomes another elaborate charade.

It demanded that members of the committee must be selected strictly on the basis of integrity, competence, experience, independence and a demonstrable commitment to football development.

‘The composition of the Normalisation Committee must not become another bazaar or an opportunity to compensate friends, girlfriends, political associates and cronies,’ the Guild warned.

‘Nigeria needs people with fresh ideas, proven competence and unquestionable integrity to lead this reform process. Those who have contributed to the mess Nigerian football has become must not be recycled.’

The Guild said Nigerians would be watching closely to ensure that the reform process does not become an avenue for those responsible for the current problems to reposition themselves and retain influence.

It called for the Normalisation Committee to have a clearly defined mandate, transparent membership criteria and a strict timetable, with a clearly established exit date.

The committee, it stressed, must not become another permanent structure or an interim arrangement that gradually assumes the characteristics of the system it was created to reform.

According to the Guild, the reform must go beyond conducting another election. It should include a comprehensive review of the statutes and governance structure of Nigerian football, the establishment of a transparent and credible electoral system, stronger accountability mechanisms and measures capable of preventing the concentration of football administration in the hands of a few individuals.

The Guild also challenged the reform process to confront what it described as the fundamental legal questions surrounding the identity and status of the country’s football governing body, particularly the issues relating to the names Nigeria Football Federation and Nigeria Football Association.

‘There is everything in a name. The legal foundation of Nigerian football must be properly addressed if the reforms are to stand the test of time,’ it said.

It further demanded a comprehensive forensic audit of the NFF’s finances, contracts, assets and activities, insisting that the resignation of the former leadership must not terminate or weaken ongoing investigations into allegations of financial impropriety.

‘Resignation is not immunity,’ the Guild declared. ‘Anyone found to have abused his or her position or mismanaged the resources of Nigerian football must be held accountable. Whoever has dipped his hands into the cookie jar must face the consequences of such actions in accordance with the law.’

The Guild also urged the Federal Government and the NSC to maintain constant consultation with FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), while making it clear that football autonomy must not be used as a shield against accountability, transparency and good governance.

‘Football autonomy must not be interpreted as freedom from accountability,’ the Guild said.

The Guild said it would closely monitor the selection of members of the Normalisation Committee and every stage of the reform process, warning that Nigerians would judge the exercise not by the rhetoric surrounding it but by the quality and independence of the people chosen to carry it out.

‘We shall be watching. This opportunity must not be wasted or turned into another exercise in recycling the same people and preserving the same failed system under a different name,’ it said.

‘The objective must not simply be another election and another set of administrators. Nigeria must build a football system founded on transparency, competence, accountability and sustainable development.’

The Guild said President Tinubu’s intervention had created a rare opportunity to rebuild Nigerian football from its foundations and urged the Federal Government and the NSC to resist every attempt to compromise the process.

‘Nigeria has suffered enough. Nigerian football must now be rebuilt.’