The President of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN), Tijani Babangida, said that the constitution of the executive board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is ‘deficient on all fronts’.
Babangida stated that the football governing board chose to favour chairmen of states’ football governing body leaving out other key stakeholders which negate the democratic principles of the sport.
According to him, the faulty composition of the board has always hurt the distribution of votes.
Babangida on Tuesday in Lagos opined that restructuring is the only avenue to make the membership of the NFF board more inclusive.
In a statement tagged, “NFF For Sustainable Growth and Development of Nigeria”, and made available to newsmen, Babangida advised that if the body is to make progress, the provisions of article 10:1 of NFF Statutes must be reviewed.
He said, “The current structure of the NFF board is deficient on many fronts. The current structure dominated by the chairmen of the state football associations to the detriment of other important stakeholders does not portray the game of football as the most democratic game in the world.
“The board dominated by the state football association chairmen has its roots in the faulty nature of the composition and distribution of votes.
“This votes amongst the five distinct members of the NFF, according to the provisions of article 10:1 of NFF Statutes must be addressed if we must move forward and make progress”, Babangida added.
Furthermore, Babangida faulted the structure of the congress that ushers in new executives, adding that it is an avenue where electoral fraud and malpractices are promoted The Trumpet gathered.
He continued, “There is no doubt that the current structure of the congress and the board has continuously promoted and encouraged election malpractices such as votes buying.
“This has negative effects on the quality of members of the board which robs on quality decisions making and good governance,” he added.
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Babangida proposed that the governing body should adopt a system that is devoid of the exclusion of key stakeholders across boards which will aid in curbing electoral malpractice and excesses of vote-buying.
He said, “What I mean is that we should adopt a system, and structure where the board is composed of representatives of only duly, and democratically elected.
“They can be persons of the various stakeholders such as the football associations (PFAN), the leagues, the players union, coaches association, Nigeria Referees Association, (NRA), Sports Writers Association, etcetera.
“They will now be responsible to elect the president of NFF and other key officials amongst themselves.
“By this, the election will be less expensive and devoid of manipulation and guarantee quality and professionalism,” he added.
