President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, has praised the Senate for a marvelous job, after the Red Chamber passed the much awaited NFF Bill following a third reading on Tuesday.
Pinnick said on Tuesday evening: “Today will go down as one of the most remarkable in the history of the Nigeria Football Federation. I am very excited. With the passing of this Bill, we now await the very important assent of Mr. President. Once Mr. President gives assent, I assure you the NFF can achieve so much.
“I am not only thinking of what the present NFF administration can do; I am thinking of what subsequent NFF Boards after our tenure will be able to do, as the Bill is futuristic as well. For us, the passing of the NFF Bill means we can now make our programme even more robust and proceed apace with our vision of building a sustainable football culture for our dear country, through driving private sector involvement and investment.”
The key highlights of the NFF Bill include legislations to ensure the entrenchment of the enabling environment for the development of football in Nigeria and to drive private sector participation and investment at all levels. Fundamentally, the Bill has now domesticated the NFF Statutes, recognizing its sanctity, as approved by the NFF Congress and endorsed by FIFA as the supreme laws for governance of the functioning, organization, administration and operations of the Federation, as well as recognition of football by the Federal Government as a national asset entitled to special privileges and concessions to foster its growth at all levels.
The Bill further provides for special concessions and tax holidays by the Government to sponsors of football in Nigeria and has clear financial reporting provisions to further entrench transparency in the activities of the NFF, such as publishing of accounts annually.
These will set the NFF on a path of sustainable growth and ensure it operates within international best practices and as a business to strengthen the social and economic impact of football to the nation’s economy.
On Tuesday, on the floor of the Senate, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports and Youth Development, Senator Joseph Obinna Ogba, presented the report of his committee, which was followed by a clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill and a voice vote by the senators. “All these court cases against football do not augur well for our country. It is important that we repeal the Act (2004) and enact the NFF Bill to sanitise football administration in this country,” Ogba said.
The Act of Parliament 2004 as the legal instrument for administering the game in Nigeria replaced the Decree 101 of 1992.
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