Sports minister Sunday Dare has told the executive committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) he will not interfere with the corruption probe involving their senior officials.
According to TheCable, Dare instead told the NFF board to clean up their acts.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has so far seized 15 properties belonging to NFF president Amaju Pinnick and Shehu Dikko, 2nd Vice President, in a massive probe concerning several top officials.
“The executive board (of NFF) should learn to do things differently, the Minister will not interfere with EFCC or ICPC since it is important to allow these organizations follow their own due processes,” Dare said.
“We must allow them to do their work.”
In his first meeting with the entire membership of the board of the NFF, he pointed out that the perception of corruption and unseriousness is hurting the sport.
The minister pointed out that the federation must chart a new course in conducting its affairs transparently.
“The perception is that the NFF is corrupt. The perception is that of unseriousness; this perception is hurting the sport.
“We need to reset the perception, the charge of corruption and other negative things can be turned around by embracing transparency.”
NFF officials have denied being corrupt in the past with Pinnick once saying the investigation made them “feel unsafe”.
The NFF has been on the watch-list of the anti-corruption agencies and is currently under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Special Presidential Investigation Panel on Recovery of Public Property (SPIP).
The executives of the federation have been accused of diverting funds meant for the association.
