The President of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Ibrahim Gusau, and other members of the federation’s executive board have reportedly resigned amid mounting pressure over the management of Nigerian football and ongoing scrutiny of the federation’s finances.
The development follows a series of setbacks involving Nigeria’s national teams, including the Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time in the country’s history.
The NFF board had faced intense criticism over what many described as the poor management and declining fortunes of Nigerian football.
Vanguard gathered that security agencies had also stepped up scrutiny of the federation over the management of funds released by the Federal Government for the country’s national teams.
DSS Investigates N17bn Intervention Fund
The Department of State Services, DSS, is reportedly among the security agencies investigating the NFF over the utilisation of the N17 billion Federal Government intervention fund approved to address players’ wages and outstanding bonuses.
The fund was approved by President Bola Tinubu in 2024 to settle payments owed to Nigeria’s national teams.
A source familiar with the development said the DSS had requested documents relating to how the money was spent.
According to the source, the scrutiny was part of a routine review of records connected to the funds and should not necessarily be viewed as a witch-hunt.
The probe comes amid growing public concern over the administration of Nigerian football, following a string of disappointing results by the country’s national teams.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles have missed consecutive FIFA World Cup tournaments, while the Super Falcons suffered a historic setback after failing to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The Falcons’ qualification hopes ended after they were beaten by Cameroon and later suffered a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in the qualification playoff.
Nigeria had participated in every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup since the competition began in 1991, making the latest failure the first in the country’s history.
Board Members Under Pressure
The NFF executive committee, led by Gusau, had come under growing pressure to step down following the succession of failures and the reported resignation of several board members.
Reports indicated that eight of the 13 members of the NFF board had allegedly vacated their positions.
The latest developments could also affect the NFF elections scheduled for September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State, as uncertainty continues to surround the future of the federation’s leadership.
The resignations mark another major crisis for Nigerian football, with questions now expected over the management of the NFF and the direction of the country’s national teams.
