The Ondo State Commissioner of Sports, Saka Yusuf-Ogunleye has commended the Federal Government for directing the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to comply with a court order declaring Chris Giwa as its duly elected president.
Yusuf-Ogunleye stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Akure.
“If government spends money on a federation, it should also ensure that the right things are done in the place,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Minister of Youth and Sports Solomon Dalung had directed the NFF to comply with the Supreme Court order which declared Giwa as the authentic NFF President.
Dalung said in a statement that the directive followed a written notification by the Attorney-General of the federation requesting the ministry to ensure compliance with the order.
“FIFA’s laws cannot be supreme over the laws of the land, the NFF is under the ministry and not as independent as assumed.
“The problem with Nigeria is that the NFF will always say that government should not have control over football because they claim to be autonomous and that they can do what they like without government control.
“You take money from government and say government does not have control over you?
“ The same thing happens at the state level,’ ’ Yusuf-Ogunleye said.
When asked to comment on why government did not implementation the order before the World Cup, he said it was for the goodness of the country.
“We will not have played in the World Cup and the people will have blame government for not allowing the Super Eagles to win the tournament,’’ Yusuf-Ogunleye said.
He also appreciated Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu for his achievements in the area of youth development in the state.
The commissioner said his trip to Russia for the World Cup was an eye opener on how he can make positive impact in the area of sports development in the state.
