[dropcap]N[/dropcap]igeria’s lingering football crisis appears to have come to an end after the country’s president Muhammadu Buhari weighed in and directed all parties to follow the FIFA statutes.
Subsequently, NFF president Amaju Pinnick has been restored to office three weeks after he was ousted by a group led by Christopher Giwa, who claimed to have won elections held in 2014.
Buhari’s directive was immediately followed by a letter from the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice to the effect that Nigeria would respect world football body FIFA’s position on the matter.
That position has been that Giwa’s election was null and void following third-party interference, and that Pinnick and his board were the rightfully elected leaders of the NFF.
General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi, who was ‘suspended’ last week by the Giwa group, returned to office on Monday and was later joined by second Vice President Shehu Dikko and other members of the executive committee
“We cannot thank His Excellency enough for his action in restoring order to the Football House,” Sanusi said in a statement from the NFF.
“By this single action, our President has restored hope to millions of Nigerian youth and the not-so-young who are involved in one way or the other in the football business.
“Now they can live and breathe their favourite game once more.
“All plans and programmes of the various national teams will proceed accordingly, and we also believe the League Management Company will now put arrangements in place for the resumption of the Nigeria Professional Football League.”
Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) were at the NFF Secretariat, Abuja on Monday morning with orders to ensure compliance with the directive of the Attorney General.
Pinnick, who has been away on Morocco at a CAF meeting, is expected back at the Glass House on Tuesday.