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Nigeria Football Association is torn apart by internal rift and the body may be dancing its way to extinction, as Nigerians from all walks of life continue to hammer them

Never in the history of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) has the body been so derided by Nigerians like it has happened in the last couple of weeks.

The Sani Lulu-led board has been called all sort of names by angry soccer fans, with the latest attack coming from the Nigerian Senate.

"There’s a mafia running the NFA," the Senate was told on Tuesday. And Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora believes that it is high time the mafia was dismantled.

Speaking in support of a motion, which formally condemned the Super Eagles’ poor performance at the just-concluded Africa Cup of Nations, Senator Mamora accused the 'mafia' of stifling the growth of Nigerian sports.

"We need to find out what led to our dismal performance," Mamora stated. "There is a kind of mafia in sports administration in Nigeria and until such clique is removed, we can’t move forward. We have the materials but the problem is management."

Members of the FA must have read the handwriting on the wall that the game is almost up for the board, as some of them are poised to expose those members who lied to Nigerians and hired the German coach without informing the full board of the content of his contract.

Daily Sunsport reliably gathered that some members, whose fingers are allegedly dipped in corruption over the Vogts saga, are threatening to drag their accusers to court. But a strong member of the body said such threat is empty "because we have the dossier of those who are involved in the Vogts debacle."

Former Sports Minister, Damishi Sango, may have finally nailed the coffin of the NFA when he argued that the body, as currently constituted, is made up of inept and empty clowns.
"Must we wait till we miss the first World Cup to be hosted on African soil before we act?" Sango asked while urging the FA to sack Vogts.

In his own submission, Senator Abubakar Sodangi said: "We were highly disappointed. Some people have been in the Sports Ministry and the NFA for over 20 years. Of course, there must be wear and tear."

A suspended member of the NFA board, Dr. Peter Singabele, who hailed the Senate for taking the bull by the horns, agrees that Nigerian football is in the hands of charlatans and clowns who are ensconced in the Glass House in Abuja to milk the nation dry.

"State football associations and Premier league sides, which make up football congress, should mobilise themselves and ask the present NFA board, led by Alhaji Sani Lulu, some fundamental questions as it affects football administration in the country," Singabele said.

He revealed that he was ready to go with the board, if the FA Congress or the Senate choose to wield the big stick on them. He says the FA should take the path of honour by resigning enmass, having failed to win the Nations Cup in spite of the huge investment by the government.

Singabele wants the Senate to look into the spending of the NFA in the last one year, stressing that the revelation would be mind-boggling. He added that members of the board have never perused the account of the association even once since inauguration, as only Lulu and his lieutenants feel they have the monopoly of how the FA money should be spent.
He also calls on the Senate to ask Lulu to tell the world how much Nigeria gets from FIFA and CAF every year and how the money is spent.

"I’m not saying that anybody has embezzled money but the report will be shocking if the Senate really wants to look into the FA finances," he said. "I honestly salute the courage of the Senate, as this may finally bring sanity to our football."

Similarly, Dr. Amos Adamu, director general in the National Sports Commission (NSC) is apparently not happy with happenings in Nigerian football, saying the NFA is merely chasing shadows.
He argues that the FA should have sacked Vogts in Ghana for his ineptitude.
"Vogts is incompetent," Dr. Adamu said. "I don’t know why he’s still around. The NFA should know what to do with him but, as for me, the game is over.

"Shaibu Amodu won bronze in Mali in 2002 and he was booted out, while Christian Chukwu, who won bronze in Tunisia 2004, was not allowed to reap the fruit of his labour. In the same vein, Austin Eguavoen, who won bronze in 2006 in Egypt, was also relieved of his job. So, why is Vogts different, even when he did not win anything?" Dr. Adamu queried.