World Cup 2010: How NFF spent N90m to win Kenya match

Alhaji Abdullahi Sani Lulu

• N23.39m for change of name

• N9m to feed in one match

Just to change the name Nigeria Football Association (NFA) to Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) cost the nation’s tax payers thesumofN23.39m by the ousted and immediate past board led by Alhaji Sani Abdullahi Lulu.

This amount was said to have been spent on hosting the Congress that approved the change of name which took place in Lokoja, Kogi State during the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The Lulu board in the document revealed that the board in 2009 claimed to have spent N8.58m on legal services and N16.1m on “other professional services” whatever that means.

According to the document, the 2010 World cup cost Nigeria N120m to play the home and away game against Kenya. A breakdown showed that N30m was spent to charter Chachangi Air for the match against Kenya while the match itself cost N90m.

Further details provided in the document showed N87m went for financial requirement for the Kenya versus Nigeria match, accommodation and feeding of the Super Eagles. Followers of the game interpreted that the “N87m went for financial requirement for the Kenya versus Nigeria match” is an euphemism for the match fixed in the desperate means for the nation to have qualified for the World Cup. Match fixing was suspected by the dramatic content of the qualification then.

There were several items in the budget that were repeated. For instance, under the item tagged as ‘sporting activities analysis’, the item with serial number 32 claimed that the board spent N80m on “financial requirement for the Kenya versus Nigeria match” while item number 57 under the same heading had N87m showing a careless inability to manipulate the figures to cover their dirty tracks.

If we extend the arguments, that will mean that financial requirement for the Kenya versus Nigeria match cost Nigeria N167m on just one away match against Kenya in Nairobi!

Another case of absolute inconsistency in expenditure is revealed on the feeding and accommodation of the Super Eagles where on item number 34 N5.680m was quoted and on item number 58, the same board claimed N3m. That means the team was fed with N8.68m for one match.

In the all expenses paid international friendly in Paris where the Super Eagles defeated the French national team by 1-0, it was alleged to have cost the nation N50.251m while the all expenses paid friendly against the Republic of Ireland in London which ended in a draw gulped a massive N63.142m.

All these were contained in the 2009 budget performance document submitted to the Nigeria lower parliament, the House of Representatives.

It will be recalled that the NFF has been mired in a massive fraudulent and financial crisis including the current trial of the leadership of that board by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Those who are still standing trial in a Federal High Court in Abuja include Alhaji Sani Abdullahi Lulu, Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi, Mr. Amanze Uchegbulam and Dr. BolajiOjo-Oba. They are standing for billions of Naira that cannot be accounted for.

Shortly before that board left the seat, the sum of $238,000 developed wings and got missing from the vaults of the NFF.