By Fidelis Ebu
The National Sports Commission, NSC has explained that the crisis_ridden Nigeria Football Association is to be probed for misapplication of funds meant for the Super Eagles World Cup campaign.

Bio

Chairman, NSC, Alhaji Ibrahim Isa Bio was bitter that the NFA under Sani Lulu Abdullahi did not see government’s financial assistance to the football house as interference, but termed all advice by the government to suspend processes towards the election and concentrate on the World Cup as an attempt to dictate to the NFA on what to do.

“The N900 million given to the NFA for the prosecution of the 2010 Fifa World Cup was not seen as government interference.

When we saw the shoddy hotel accommodation arrangement made by the NFA for the players as not befitting enough, and the hotel was in the first place not on the list among the hotels approved by Fifa; we sought a change and paid a fine of 125,000 dollars as fine.

“We also came to the NFA’s rescue when the plane they chartered broke down and the players didn’t want to board it to South Africa.  We quickly arranged for another that eventually took the players to Johannesburg for the World Cup. All these government’s efforts and contributions were not seen as interference by the NFA, but the advice from my office to the NFA leadership, to suspend all processes towards the elections and concentrate on the World Cup was blatantly ignored.

Rather, it chose to report to FIFA that the Federal Government was interfering in the running of football in Nigeria. That was most unfortunate and an affront on the integrity of the nation.

No responsible government would sit back and allow its sovereignty to be ridiculed through subtle blackmail in the name of statutes”, Ibrahim Isa Bio said.

While reeling out the ills of the NFA, the minister said, “It is most disheartening that at a time when every Nigerian and friends of Nigeria all over the world were traumatised owing to the lacklustre performance of the Super Eagles at the World Cup, the NFA leadership was busy canvassing and strategising for re_election. This is a clear indication of insensitivity to the general psyche of Nigerians.

“As if that is not enough, the expenditure profile of the N900 million released by the Federal government for the prosecution of the 2010 FIFA World Cup shows an alarming pattern of misapplication of funds and of course there was the issue of the theft of the sum of $236,000.00 from the safe in the office of the Secretary General NFF for which I read in the papers that judgment was passed against some security men!

“Arrangement of Hamshine hotel in Durban, South Africa was yet another scandal which Nigeria had to contend with. NFA leadership engaged a 3 Star Hotel, not recommended by FIFA but which the NFA leadership, for reasons best known to it insisted on taking inspite of its numerous inadequacies for our national team”.

Continuing, Bio said, “It may interest you to know that rather than use the $1milluion dollars given by FIFA to all participating teams to prepare for the mundial, the NFA largely expended the amount on areas that had no bearing to the World Cup for instance, the payment of $213,217.000 to Berti Vogts as salary arrears, purchase of World Cup tickets to the tune of $264,000.00. Such behaviour can certainly not add value to the game we all have passion for”