The National Sports Commission has ordered the immediate suspension of the leadership structures of the Nigeria Premier Football League, Nigeria National League, Nigeria Women’s Football League and Nationwide League One as part of sweeping interim measures following the resignation of the Nigeria Football Federation president, Ibrahim Musa Gusau.
The decision followed Thursday’s resignation of Gusau, NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, and members of the federation’s Executive Committee, throwing the administration of Nigerian football into a major transition.
As part of the measures, the NSC has endorsed NFF Deputy General Secretary, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, to oversee the NFF Secretariat as interim General Secretary.
Dr Ademola Olajire, who previously served as Director of Media and Communications, has also been appointed interim Deputy General Secretary.
The commission said the appointments were necessary to ensure that the day-to-day administration of Nigerian football does not suffer disruption during the transition.
The NSC has also suspended all processes connected with the NFF Elective Congress scheduled for September 27.
A fresh electoral process is expected to be initiated after the completion of the comprehensive reforms being planned for Nigerian football.
The reforms will be undertaken in consultation with FIFA and CAF in a bid to ensure that the restructuring of the country’s football administration complies with international football regulations.
In another major development, chairmen, appointed directors and chief executive officers of the NPFL, NNL, NWFL and Nationwide League One have been directed to hand over the administration of their respective competitions to their Chief Operating Officers.
The commission directed that the COOs taking over the running of the leagues must be members of the NFF staff.
Where the existing COO is not an NFF staff member, Ikpeme, in his capacity as interim General Secretary, has been authorised to deploy a new COO from the federation to take charge.
The latest directive effectively places the immediate administration of the country’s major domestic football competitions under the supervision of the NFF Secretariat while the wider reform process gets underway.
The measures come barely a day after President Bola Tinubu directed a comprehensive reform of Nigerian football, citing persistent failures in governance, administration, stakeholder representation, development pathways, domestic competitions and accountability.
Tinubu had also directed the NSC to work with the NFF Secretariat and relevant football stakeholders to ensure continuity in football administration while developing a broad-based reform programme.
The President further called for appropriate engagement with FIFA and CAF to ensure that Nigeria’s reform process remains within the international football framework.
The NSC said the interim arrangements were designed to maintain stability across Nigerian football while consultations continue among the government, FIFA, CAF and other stakeholders.
It added that the measures would remain in place pending the conclusion of engagements and the development of a roadmap for the comprehensive reform of Nigerian football.
“Further changes and directives will be communicated in due course,” the commission said.