The Chairman of the splinter interim committee of the Nigeria Football Association, Jarret Tenebe, has called on the Minister of Sports, Alhaji Bolaji Abdullahi, to activate his powers under the NFA Act now or his group will step in to fill the vacuum now existing in the Glass House.
Speaking on phone from Benin-City, Edo State in reaction to the Federal High Court, Abuja judgment which affirmed the illegality and sack of the Aminu Maigari-led Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Tenebe praised the forthrightness and correct understanding of Justice Okoruwa.
“With the declarative orders, the illegal board is sacked. Even if they must appeal, they have to leave first and appeal from outside which we shall join as interested party,” Tenebe said.
Tenebe added: “I do know that the NFF management, led by Musa Amadu, which would have held forth is illegal too as their tenures have lapsed since April last year. As it is, there is a vacuum. That is where the Sports minister comes in.”
According to him: “The only law operative now is the NFA Act which empowers the minister to appoint a Secretary General. As soon as the minister does this, we shall cease to exist. Our mission is accomplished for football to start the re-growth process.”
He added: “If by Thursday morning nothing is done in that direction, we shall go ahead and take over the Glass House in a self-help manner.”
It would be recalled that Tenebe’s interim committee of the NFA spearheaded the fight of the illegality of the NFF with a petition subsisting before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), leading to the setting up of the Dominic Oneya committee which submitted its report to the NSC.
Other members of Tenebe’s group include the National Association of Nigerian Footballers led by Harrison Jalla, Chief Samson Akiga, ex Super Eagles defender, Chikelue Iloenyosi and Barrister Kayode Ajulo.
But Jalla, the President of NANF, whose group had been in the fierce battle against the sacked NFF board, has demanded for the immediate implementation of the Oneya report as the only way out of the crisis that had bedevilled the nation’s football.
Reacting in a telephone interview from Lagos, Jalla said: “The latest judgment has affirmed what Justice Okon Abang said in his 2010 judgment. We have a declarative judgment from Justice Okoruwa. It is victory for Nigerian football.”
According to the dogged football activist: “The Aminu Maigari and Rumson Baribote boards of the NFF and NPL will vacate the Glass House and League House, respectively, even if they want to exercise their right of Appeal. The court’s orders are clear.”
Jalla, who was a member of the Oneya Committee, said: “The Musa Amadu management of the NFF having enjoyed a six-month extension of their life are due to have left since April 2011. There is no management in the NFF now. So, by the Act, the sports minister should appoint a Secretary General, cause a 90-day implementation of the election programme of the Oneya Committee as the only way out for him. God will give him the courage to do it.”