The National Sports Commission Chairman, Shehu Dikko, says FIFA has endorsed Nigeria’s plan to comprehensively reform the country’s football administration following the resignation of the Nigeria Football Federation board and its General Secretary.
Dikko disclosed this in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday, following a meeting with the leadership of FIFA and the Confederation of African Football in Switzerland.
He said the resignation of the NFF board created a leadership vacuum that required immediate engagement with FIFA to determine a way forward within the governing body’s rules.
“So we had to go to FIFA and say, this is the situation in Nigeria, this is where we are. And FIFA formally invited us to have a meeting and a discussion to see what kind of steps we could take to be able to move forward based on the ambition of the Nigerian government that football should be comprehensively reformed.”
“After the resignation of the entire board of the NFF and the General Secretary, naturally we have a lacuna, because there was no provision in the rulebook for situations like that, where we have nobody now to run the NFF legally within the rulebook.
Dikko said the meeting involved FIFA and CAF officials, including the FIFA President, its Vice President and General Secretary, as well as the CAF Vice President and legal representatives.
According to him, the discussions centred on the government’s proposed comprehensive reform of Nigeria’s football structures, which he said FIFA recognised as a long-standing issue.
“Two things were on the table. We have this situation, everybody agrees with that, which is okay and fine. So what do we do?
“We told them, this is our position as a government. The government wants to undertake a comprehensive reform of the football structures in Nigeria, which is something that even FIFA knew has been on the cards for decades in Nigeria.
“So we discussed comprehensive proposals from the government, which are the issues that we think should be reformed, based on the concerns of the stakeholders, and we all agreed on that.”
Dikko said FIFA endorsed the resignation of the NFF board and agreed that reforms were necessary, but stressed that the process must comply with the relevant rules.
“In short, FIFA endorsed the resignation, endorsed reform, agreed that the reform must happen, but it has to go through the proper process and the rulebooks, and they are ready to accommodate that.”
He also said FIFA acknowledged the role of government as a major stakeholder in sports, particularly because of its responsibility for infrastructure, funding and security.
“They acknowledge that the government is the biggest stakeholder in any sport in any country, because they are the ones with the infrastructure, they are the ones bringing the funding, bringing the security, and able to get it to work, so they have to listen to that.”
Dikko said Nigeria had already begun consultations with stakeholders on the proposed reform blueprint, adding that FIFA would subsequently visit the country for an on-site assessment.
“The first thing is, let’s have some conversation with some of the stakeholders to discuss the blueprint of the comprehensive reform, which we have started even yesterday.
“I held a meeting with some of the Congress members. We have shared the document with them for them to make an input. And then FIFA will eventually come here to have an on-site visit, where we can eventually invite other stakeholders to come and have a conversation, so that we have perfected the document.”
Dikko said FIFA would determine the composition and mandate of an interim normalisation committee to oversee the reform process, stressing that the body would be independent and subject to a defined timeline.
“That committee is not appointed by the Nigerian government alone. No, the committee is normally called a normalisation committee. It’s a FIFA committee.
“It’s FIFA that looks at what is on ground, and they appoint the committee with clear timelines, clear terms of reference and everything, and what they should deliver.”
He said the committee could remain in place for between six months and one year, depending on the scope of reforms agreed with stakeholders.
“It can be between maybe six months to a maximum of one year, depending on what reforms need to be done, depending on the final agreement that will be done with the stakeholders.”
Dikko said members of the committee would have to be independent and free from any interest in future NFF elections.
“The committee will be independent. That’s why it doesn’t have to be anybody who is involved within the system, or who has an interest in contesting the election.
“In fact, once you participate in that committee, you are barred from contesting the election or being part of the NFF for a certain amount of time, so that you can be neutral and just do the work that is supposed to be done.”
He added that the committee would report directly to FIFA while consulting with the Nigerian government and would be funded by FIFA.
“The committee is reporting directly to FIFA, in consultation with the government. And the committee is even being paid by FIFA when they are doing the work. That is how it is done.”
The NSC chairman said the proposed reforms would also target the NFF electoral code and system, with the aim of making future elections more transparent.
“Part of the reforms is also to rebuild the electoral code, to rebuild the electoral system and make it very transparent.
“We are creating a new system. For example, in our email conversation, somebody said, look, there’s no election of NFF without problems, so why can’t you decide to go for a selective selection process?
“Which means, once you become president of the NFF, you have to declare your team — who will be your vice president, who will be your secretary, who will be your members, who will be your marketing people and everything.
“So it’s a whole team that will contest the election. The other candidate will declare his own candidate. By the time people are voting, they know this is the person they are voting for, these are the people they are voting for, and they are all aligned in the same vision.”
Dikko said the proposed reforms would be divided into immediate, medium- and long-term measures, with some potentially extending beyond the tenure of the normalisation committee.
“The reform we want to do is very, very comprehensive. It might not be able to be done within the framework of the NFF.
“So the NFF will divide the reforms into the immediate, medium and long term. We can see what we can be able to achieve during the normalisation committee’s engagement, and then what can be passed to the next NFF committee.”
He said an agreement would be signed between the Nigerian government, FIFA and CAF to ensure continuity after the transition period.
“Whoever is the first person, he must continue when this reform is passed, to make sure it is delivered within the framework. So, by and large, everything is working, everything is fine, and hopefully, as we have started the consultation here now, everything will be fine, and then FIFA will come and we will take the process forward.”
On the N17 billion provided by the Federal Government to the NFF, Dikko said the money was released before the National Sports Commission came into existence and that the entire amount had already been spent by the time the commission assumed responsibility.
“Those monies were given even before I assumed office. Those monies were given in December 2023 to January 2024. The Sports Commission only came in in October 2024.
“It was the previous people that were here that got the approval. By the time we arrived at the Sports Commission, the entire money in front of us had been spent.”
Dikko said the NFF had submitted a spending breakdown when seeking the funding, while the former ministry responsible for sports transferred the approved funds to the NFF account.
“They submitted a breakdown of what they wanted to do with the money, and the President approved and gave them the money.
“The ministry, from what I see, did not hold one kobo. As the money entered the ministry’s account, they transferred 100 per cent of it to the NFF account at the CBN.
“So basically, the ministry had done what they had to do at that time. So it’s for the NFF to account back to the ministry for what they had done with the money.”
He said the NFF’s audited accounts should provide the basis for determining whether there were financial irregularities.
“That is why now the rulebook says that you have to present the audited accounts and everything. And if there are issues, then the NFF will open up.”
Dikko also explained that federal government officials are embedded within the NFF’s financial structure.
“The financial director of the NFF is a federal civil servant. The head of accounts, the auditor of the NFF, is posted by the Auditor-General’s office. So they all have the records on what they need to do.
“And if there are any issues, I’m sure the relevant authorities are dealing with it and they will do what is necessary.”
He said greater scrutiny by the NFF Congress was also necessary.
“That is why they have the annual meetings every year. That is why we are asking, people are asking that the Congress has to be more engaged, has to be more involved, because these kinds of issues, if there are any problems, are supposed to have even come up from the Congress first, because they are the ones that have audited the audited account before it was published.”
Dikko said he had warned NFF Congress members as far back as March 2026 that the football administration needed fundamental reforms.
“If you recall that as far back as March 2026, I was at the NFF Congress, and because the NFF is set up in such a way that it can be self-governed, that it can be able to reform themselves, that’s the first step.
“They can be able to do it themselves. They can be able to see the issues and reform them and make the right decisions.”
He said his message to the Congress was unequivocal.
“I was at the Congress because, being part of the system, I know the issues. So I told them very clearly at the Congress, my speech was very clear: look, the time is here, you have to reform. You have to reform.”
Dikko also pointed to the scale of government funding for football under President Bola Tinubu, arguing that the financial support should be matched by institutional reforms.
“This is what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been doing for sports, giving an unprecedented amount of money. For example, we are talking about N17 billion.
“When Amaju was in the NFF from 2014 to 2022, the entire money the Federal Government gave the NFF was N15 billion.
“This NFF got N17 billion in one cheque from the President, apart from the other funding for the women and what has been done.
“So the President has given more than five times more than what the Federal Government has given so far. So you have to do something. You have to reform.”
Dikko maintained that the comprehensive reform programme was now necessary to address longstanding structural challenges in Nigerian football and establish a more transparent and accountable system.
Boluwatife Enome
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