Minister opposes invasion of NFF secretariat by DSS operatives

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has stated that nothing has changed after the Supreme Court ruling and orders of the Federal High Court in Jos, Plateau State on the Nigeria Football Federation on April 27, 2018.
The Minister spoke in response to the invasion of the NFF’s Glass House secretariat in Abuja by operatives of the Department of State Services and the restoration to office of the Federation’s former President, Amaju Pinnick.
The Board led by Ambassador Chris Giwa, which has the backing of the Supreme Court, was thus sacked from office on Monday morning.
Dalung said the use of security operatives to restore the old order has not changed the fact that the status quo remains.
He said those using security operatives to settle issues in the NFF were only using the name of President Muhammadu Buhari falsely.
He said the stakeholders meeting of the football family, scheduled for Tuesday (tomorrow), will still hold.
Dalung said in the statement: “As far as I am concerned, nothing has changed. There is no development after the Supreme Court ruling of April 27, 2018 and the Federal High Court Order of 5th June 2018 because the court has not vacated the order.
“Those who are presently trying to instigate confusion, using the name of the President must be aware that the President cannot go against the rule of law. The Order issued by the court has not been vacated and the President cannot vacate a court order because there are clear cut processes of doing that.
“What happened in the NFF today is security excesses but it will be sorted out. The Federal government is urging members of the public to remain calm as it is doing its best to resolve the crises in the Nigeria Football Federation.
“The Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has already initiated a process of trying to bring the stakeholders together, to work out a road map out of this quagmire. The Stakeholders’ meeting billed for Tuesday July 24, 2018 will still go ahead as planned.
“We want to assure Nigerians that Government is sorting out the grey areas but nobody should drag the name of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria into this. The President is an advocate of the Rule of Law and he cannot be associated with the security excesses of a breach of the Rule of Law.
“We urge the civil servants in the federation to remain calm and go about their normal duties.”