The Chris Giwa-led faction of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, on Thursday said the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has been served with the Jos Court Order relisting the case against the NFF, which also restored all the previous orders.
The Minister had while speaking at the NFF extra-ordinary congress presided over by President Amaju Pinnick, said he had not received the Jos Court Order nullifying the election of Mr. Pinnick.
A statement signed by Effiong Johnson, chairman of chairmen said, “We however understood the predicament of the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Solomon Dalung, who attended the purported Emergency Congress because he was not served with the court order of 8th April 2016.
“May we put it on record that now the Minister has been served.
“The general public including all Banks are warned to desist from doing business with the sacked and illegal body.
“If they so do, it is at their own risk. All the banks where the NFF has accounts have been written to beware.”
Johnson said that the previous orders restored by the Federal High Court sitting in Jos, on 8th April 2016, in Suit No. FHC/J/CS/77/2014, include:
- An order compelling the Honourable Minister of Sports and all the 36 state FAs including FCT to give recognition to the Board of the NFF which was elected on 26 August 2014 and restrains them from interfering with the Board’s execution of the functions of its officers;
- An order which nullified and set aside the purported Warri election of 30th September 2014 which produced Amaju Pinnick and his purported Board.
He also noted that the Giwa faction had noted that “some persons led by Amaju Pinnick are still parading themselves as the Board of the NFF in flagrant contempt to the aforesaid orders of the court.
“They called and held a purported Emergency Congress of the NFF on the 13th April 2016. They even issued a communiqué.
“We hereby advise the general public to disregard the so-called outcome of that illegal and contemptuous Emergency Congress.
“The general public will recall that on the 12th April 2016 the Board of the NFF dissolved all the State FAs including that of the FCT.
“In line with the tenets of the Rule of Law, the Board of the NFF is already taking legal steps to file criminal charges of impersonation against Amaju Pinnick and his cohorts that convened and participated in the purported Emergency Congress in the name of the NFF.”
The statement said that the Giwa faction has set up harmonization committees in all the 36 states of the federation and FCT and would be inaugurated soon.
