NFF as most corrupt institution: Amaechi is too right

The issue of the corruption in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is one I will tackle frontally.

Lulu...where is the money he claimed to have left?

SPORTS MINISTER’S AUTO-DEFENCE: I read the sports minister’s auto-defence on behalf of the NFF. I give it to him, with due respect, that he has spoken within the depth of what he knows. There it stops. If his positions are true, he should order for the audit of the Federation in the last 15 years.

If every of the sports federations under the Nationl Sports Commission (NSC) are subjected to yearly audit reports, the quality of corruption in the industry would have been severely corrupt. The corruption in the so-called smaller federations is enormous. I think Governor Amaechi forgot to add that the corruption in the entire sports industry is the highest in the nation.

If I don’t know, I had revealed several corruption scandals in Athletics, Weightlifting, Volleyball. The most recent is that of Handball. Back to football, has anyone asked for the monies immediate past President, Sani Abdullahi Lulu, claimed to have left? What happened to the $280,000 that disappeared? What about the last $80,000? What happened to the FIFA development fund? What about the $8m from the 2010 World Cup?

Sincerely speaking, I pray that the Aminu Maigari board will seek, manipulate their illiterate Congress, get and run another tenure in office. By the time they leave, our football would have become desolate. They would make us believe they’ve made profress because they attend competitions especially the cadet championships using 30 year olds to play U-17 games because they parade small bodies in archeulian bodies as old as that of grannies. God help them.

Presidential retreat: Why did the President’s guests get stranded?

I know as a fact that all those who attend Presidential retreats, summits and conferences are by eduction guests of the President. I was such a guest in April 2011 at the Presidential Conference on job creation in the Villa’s Banquet hall. Every one there got a respected treatment worthy of guests of the President. We were eminently treated with the quality of the various backgrounds all of us brought to the event.

Where I started getting the bad omen of the last Presidential Retreat in Sports was for two of the respected personae in the industry: Adokie Amasiemaka and Mitchel Obi to have declined the invitation. The two gentlemen may have reviewed their worth and respected themselves to say, ‘thanks, I won’t come’. Then, the McKinsey angle.

Some others attended. After the event, they were stranded. They were forcibly ejected from their temporary abode in Bolton White at 11:30am and re-admitted at about 3:00pm.

I also know that they were asked to go back to their various bases and leave their account numbers. That the President will pay them later in due course. (Since they came to Abuja at the President’s will).

This is a sad commentary. Was McKinsey also asked to go and leave his account to be paid later? Many of these guests (I am not ready to list their names) came in economy flights. Many by road. They had looked forward to leaving with some cash back. Some had to start calling friends who did not know they were in Abuja to bring them money to get back to base. Hah!

…Dr Amos Adamu shunned the President?

Dr. Amos Adamu

How time changes? Was the former Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC) also given a red card from the Presidential Retreat or he was so inconsequential that he was either forgotten or just ignored? Or was he invited and he shunned the President in protest?

Ironically, 90% of those who attended the event were all ‘Adamu boys’. So, no one could ask what happened to him? I wonder if such an event will hold in this country while he is still alive and he is so conspicuously missing.

As an individual, I was one of his harshest critics when he was in office but if what belongs to Ceasar deserves to be given to him, and the Lord takes his, then Dr. Adamu should have been there. Most of those who attended the Retreat are part of the biggest problems of Nigerian sports, worse in character, vision and ideals than Adamu. So?

I also noticed there were too many Nigerians sitting on the boards of World sports bodies that were not there. The consolation is, it is just a ceremony to celebrate good spoken English about sports.

NOTHING, yes, I repeat, nothing will happen. If anything will happen, was it not the same PDP ruling government that had set up the General Sam Ogbemudia, Group Captain Emeka Omeruah and General Ishola Williams’ committees. What has happened to their reports?

We shall gather in 2016 after the next failure in the Rio Olympics for another jaw-jaw. Mark my words. I did this same prediction in 2008. It cam to pass in 2012 and this too will soon come to pass again in 2106.

Ledge, welcome new papers to your space. You have more pages and reports to keep. More will soon come again.

Hip! Hip!! Hip!!!...Hurray! 

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