The combination of NFF president Amaju Pinnick and Shehu Dikko fits the popular saying that a leopard never loses its spots.
These are fellows who have procured a purported discharge and acquitted verdict from a Federal High Court Abuja in a matter they were never arraigned in court.
In a figment of their own imagination, they thought they have been left off the hook so they have continued with their gross abuse of office, breaching fiduciary duties, engaging in acts of conflict of interest, diverting funds of the NFF and other forms of corruption using the League Management Company (LMC) chairman, and NFF second vice president Shehu Dikko’s company Mediterranean Sports Limited as a trump card for siphoning NFF’S FUNDS meant for football development in the country.
Shehu Dikko’s Mediterranean Sports Limited is also a conveyor belt to ferrying diverted funds for money sourced from state governments for hosting Super Eagles games.
Mediterranean Sports Limited is entitled to 20% of all funds received by the NFF even sponsorship in existence before the emergence of the Amaju Pinnick-led NFF board.
Even for World Cup qualifiers where FIFA allocates funds for preparation to every participating federation Pinnick still double budgets and get funds from both the federal government and state governments.
A typical example is a letter to the Akwa Ibom State governor His Excellency Udom Emmanuel dated 5th September 2017, the letter speaks for itself.
FIFA paid $2m far in advance for 2018 World Cup preparations.
There is also a budgetary allocation appropriated by the National Assembly for the 2018 World Cup.
The over $10m received by the NFF in December 2018 as FIFA World Cup prize money has disappeared into thin air, while the 2014 FIFA World Cup prize money paid in December 2014 is still undergoing prosecution and intense investigation by anti- graft agencies.
The whereabouts of 2018 FIFA World Cup prize money is still a mirage.
We also attach another letter dated 23rd of January 2018 addressed to the chairman of Financial Derivatives Ltd signed by NFF general secretary Sanusi Mohammed instructing it to pay into Mediterranean Sports Limited account 20% of 100,000,000 million naira part payment tranche received from AITEO group.
So, one is forced to ask – who is creating the TOXIC environment in Nigeria football?
This series is from the stable of the National Association of Nigeria Footballers (NANF).
BY HARRISON JALLA, President (NANF)
