Former Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Football Association, Nwbufo Obienu, has been wondering why the sports minister Yusuf Suleiman would accord recognition to those who tried to form a parallel football body on the grounds that the authentic body changed their name from Nigeria Football Association, NFA to Nigeria Football Federation, NFF.

Obienu broke his long silence Wednesday. He had withdrawn from the public after the death of his father last year.
“How can a group emerge and say they are forming another football administration body and the sports minister will call them for a meeting to reconcile them with those who won election? It is only in Nigeria such a thing can happen,” Obienu fumed yesterday.

He said further: “Anybody listening to them is not sincere, so I don’t know how sincere government is about resolving the problems of our football”.

However, Obienu’s condemnation of the rebel group did not amount to support for the process that produced the current board led by Aminu Maigari.

“They held election based on the statutes approved by FIFA and  a group emerges and says they are forming a parallel body?  That is wrong. But another thing I find wrong is that the body before them changed the statutes. I don’t like that.

On that basis I frown at the process. But the fact remains that they contested election based on FA statutes.”

Obienu had words on the General Dominic Oneya Committee the minister constituted to find solutions to the problem.
“We have had many committees, too many of them. Are we not tired of committees? The only consolation I have in this one is that Oneya said that they would look into Decree 101, the law that spells out how football should be administered.

That Decree is a big problem and the earlier it is discarded the better for our football.”