FA chairmen want Bio, Ekeji sacked

Nigerian football’s ongoing crisis took another turn Tuesday when the Zonal Coordinators, claiming to represent the NFF General Assembly, wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan and FIFA.

Goodluck

In two separate letters to the President and the world football’s governing body, the NFF Assembly accused the men of corruption and interference respectively.

Both letters, signed by Effiong Johnson, who was elected as Head of the State FA Chairmen in the removed board, accused Sports Minister Isa Bio and Director General Patrick Ekeji of being the key figures perpetuating the crisis.

The duo are accused of having arbitrarily taken over the administration of football in the country.
In a political twist to the crisis, the Assembly accused the sports minister of trying to court a FIFA ban in order to cost the President Goodluck Jonathan next year’s elections, claiming that Bio belongs to ‘a different politcial camp’ than the President.

Further, Ekeji is accused of sundry corruption charges in the letter, with the Assembly asking the President to fire the DG along with the minister.

Only yesterday, the minister, in a meeting with managements of the NFF, NPL and representatives of football club owners, ordered the meeting to endorse the non-relegation of clubs from the Premier League, a move that smacks of direct government intervention in the running of football in the country.

The order which has been described as retrogressive by stake-holders was also perceived as a disincentive to football development in Nigeria.