The Bureau of the FIFA Council has approved the appointment of a Normalisation Committee to oversee the affairs of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) ahead of fresh elections into its Executive Committee.

The NFF disclosed this in a statement, citing a letter signed by FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafström and addressed to Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme.

According to the letter, FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will jointly appoint members to the committee as soon as possible. The committee is expected to complete its assigned responsibilities before its tenure expires, with May 31, 2027, set as the final deadline.

FIFA also clarified that members of the committee will not be eligible to contest any position in the forthcoming NFF elections.

Until the committee is constituted, the NFF Secretariat will continue to manage the federation’s daily activities and oversee the administration of Nigerian football.

The development follows a series of changes in the country’s football administration in August, when former NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and members of the federation’s Executive Committee resigned.

Following the resignations, the National Sports Commission approved Emmanuel Ikpeme as interim General Secretary and Ademola Olajire as interim Deputy General Secretary. The planned NFF elective congress was also suspended pending reforms.

President Bola Tinubu had earlier directed a comprehensive reform of Nigerian football, tasking the National Sports Commission with working alongside the NFF and engaging FIFA and CAF to facilitate the process.

The appointment of the Normalisation Committee is expected to oversee the federation’s affairs pending the conduct of fresh elections into its Executive Committee

SOURCE: CHANNELS NEWS