The National Sports Commission (NSC) has endorsed Emmanuel Ikpeme as the interim general secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), following a major leadership shake-up that has thrown the administration of Nigerian football into uncertainty.
Ikpeme, who previously served as the NFF deputy general secretary, is expected to take charge of the federation’s secretariat during the transition period.
His appointment comes after NFF President Ibrahim Gusau and General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi resigned from their positions on Thursday.
The NFF said Ikpeme would oversee the day-to-day running of the federation while discussions continue with the world football governing body, FIFA, and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on the next steps for Nigerian football.
Ademola Olajire, who previously served as the NFF director of media and communications, has also been elevated to the position of deputy general secretary.
The latest development followed President Bola Tinubu’s directive for a comprehensive reform of Nigerian football amid concerns over governance, administration and the country’s repeated failures to qualify for major international competitions.
The President had directed Shehu Dikko, chairman of the National Sports Commission, to work with the NFF secretariat and other stakeholders to facilitate the reform process.
Tinubu said the exercise should address longstanding problems affecting the structure and development of football in the country.
“The reform must respond to a longstanding need to strengthen governance, administration, stakeholder representation, development pathways, domestic competitions and accountability across Nigerian football,” the President said.
He also expressed concern that football had continued to struggle despite the country’s huge talent pool, strong public support and significant government investment.
“Football, Nigeria’s most popular sport and the greatest beneficiary of public support, investment and national attention, has continued to struggle basically due to structural deficits within the system,” Tinubu said.
As part of the changes, the NFF has suspended all preparations for the elective congress earlier scheduled for September 27.
The federation said the election process would only resume after the proposed reforms had been completed and consultations had been held with FIFA and CAF.
“A fresh electoral process will commence following the completion of the anticipated comprehensive reforms, to be undertaken in consultation with world football’s governing body, FIFA, and CAF,” the NFF statement said.
The NFF has also ordered the heads of the country’s major football leagues to hand over the administration of their respective competitions to their chief operating officers.
The directive affects the Nigeria Premier Football League, Nigeria National League, Nigeria Women Football League and Nationwide League One.
According to the federation, the league chairmen are expected to “hand over the administration of their respective leagues to their chief operating officers (COO), who are members of staff of the NFF”.
The NFF added that where a league’s chief operating officer was not a federation staff member, the acting general secretary would appoint a new COO from within the NFF.
The latest reform effort also comes against the backdrop of a series of disappointing qualification results involving Nigeria’s national teams.
The Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2022 and 2026 FIFA World Cups, while the Super Falcons recently missed out on qualification for the 2027 Women’s World Cup after a difficult campaign.
Nigeria’s youth teams have also experienced setbacks, with the Golden Eaglets failing to qualify for the last three editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
