Former President of the Nigeria Referees’ Association, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja, has defended his decision to come to a resolution with the embattled Nigeria Football Federation in what has been erroneously regarded as the end of the crisis facing the game in the country.
Jaja had successfully taken the NFF to court to challenge his disqualification from contesting the last NPL elections.
His suit led to a court judgement that declared both the NFF and NPL illegal.
At a meeting brokered by Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi, Jaja agreed to refrain from enforcing the judgement.
In return, he was rewarded with a position as an honourary member of the NFF, along with having his disqualification from the NPL elections reversed whence there is no election in sight immediately.
That has led to a wave of criticism against the former NFA board member, but Jaja says he was well within his rights to seek a lasting solution.
“I said I would pursue this case to a logical end, and that is all I have achieved. I got a judgement in court, which validated my position and integrity,” he said.
He added: “The Secretary to the Federal Government called us and made an appeal for us to seek peace.
“I cannot disobey such a high ranking officer of the Federal Republic.
“And those who are talking now would have been the first to accuse me of doing that if I had done so.”
Jaja insisted that his reputation and integrity remained intact.
He added: “Being an honourary member of the NFF makes no difference to me.
“I was a former member of the board under Ibrahim Galadima and when the Sani Lulu board came in, I could have remained as President of the Referees Association but I chose to resign.
“If I had wanted to, I could have stayed.
“The important thing is for us to move on.”