“Improve all levels of our Nigeria football, run efficient leagues” – Sports Minister to new NFF board

By Wale Mustapha

Newly elected leadership of Nigeria Football Federation have been tasked by to run an all inclusive leadership that will improve the standard of the nation’s football sector at all levels.

Nigeria’s Sports Minister, Mr. Sunday Dare disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja when he received the new executives of the NFF in office following their emergence from the September 30 polls.

The Minister who did not minced word in his charge to the Ibrahim Musa Gusau led federation noted that football is a national asset, a unifying force in Nigeria and the Federal Government, through his Ministry is interested in its growth and development.

Mr. Dare who expressed delight with the emergence of new leadership said the new board must be transparent, open to new ideas and ready to make amends where necessary to move Nigerian football forward.

His words: “I am happy to see that you have settled down to work as a team. I thank you for this courtesy visit and want to urge you to get down to business quickly to the enormous task ahead of you.

“You have to move the game in the right direction, where all the genuine stakeholders want it to go. You have to hold crucial and critical conversations before you take crucial decisions. Let the interest of the nation be the first and most important consideration in all you do.

“As a new board, this is a new beginning. You have to move things to a higher level. If there are some areas of our football that are broken, then you must fix them and if some areas are unbroken, then don’t try to fix them.

“I urge you to improve all levels of our football, build strong national teams, well structured, efficiently run leagues by improving their governance structures.

“This new leadership must be aware and sensitive to the issues that will lead to the growth and development of our football and I promise that as a Ministry, we will continue to do our best to seek the right kind of funding for your programmes,” he concluded.

In his response, the newly elected NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau thanked the Minister for his support and pledged, along with other members of his board, to work in the interest of the country.

Other members of the new NFF leadership present were Ahmed Yusuf Fresh, Rabiu Inuwa, Aisha Falode, Margaret Icheen, Hon Essien Udofot and General Secretary Dr Mohammed Sanusi.