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Harrison Jalla slams NSC boss over “misleading” FIFA fund Claims, demands accountability
By Dayo Awoniyi
Football stakeholder and former players’ union leader, Prince Harrison Jalla, has accused the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko, of making “misleading” statements regarding the disbursement of FIFA Forward Funds.
Reacting to Dikko’s recent televised remarks that “no one collected the funds,” Jalla described the claim as false and deceptive, insisting that verifiable financial records show otherwise.
According to Jalla, the FIFA Forward Funds are paid directly into the Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) account with the Central Bank of Nigeria, which is fully controlled by the federation.
He cited two specific transfers made to the contractor handling the Ugborodo project — $262,116.28 on October 25, 2020, and $306,045.52 on May 7, 2021 — as evidence that funds were indeed disbursed.
Jalla, whose maternal hometown hosts the project, said the site remains incomplete, with materials meant for the work “rotting away.” He challenged Dikko to explain what happened to the remaining funds, adding that “Nigerians already know that the NFF is corruption personified.”
He also questioned the inclusion of $200,000 as tax in the FIFA-funded Ugborodo and Kebbi projects, arguing that “FIFA funds are not taxable anywhere in the world.”
Calling on Dikko to stop “defending the NFF,” Jalla urged him instead to focus on his duties as NSC Chairman, including the immediate constitution of the NSC Board, accusing him of running the commission “as a sole administrator for a year.”
Jalla concluded by demanding that Dikko ensure the completion of the Ugborodo project rather than “issuing misleading statements to protect the NFF.”
