Trouble Brewing at NFA Emergency meeting

[KoC]

There is serious wahala in the works. From what I have been able to glean from the yet-to-be-concluded Emergency General Meeting, the NFA is set to fight the Minister to a stand-still over his recent pronouncements.

At the mo, info leaked to me is that a letter has been written to the Minister with an ultimatum to reverse all the decisions he has taken between now and Monday, otherwise the NFA will fight him all the way.

Club owners are also spitting fire.

The Minister's camp is not sleeping too. They are poised for a fight. Everybdy is using all means available-fair and foul-- and the fight promises to be real DIRTY.

More news as it comes . . .

[Enugu II]

KOC:


Kickoff has some important questions to answer here. Who was the source of the story that Kickoff posted painting this emergency meeting as one that will merely endorse the Minister's action?

Furthermore, the usually antagonistic NewAge Sports has someone become mute on several of these matters since the appointment of Ojeikere. I wonder what has happened to his pre-appointment claim that he was fighting for the truth and the quest to see that Nigeria does not violate FIFA statutes.

In any case, what you have just posted is what I and I hope most Nigerians should expect. The Minister's action should not be tolerated. It certainly crossed the line. Just my 2-pence.

[KoC]

KOC:


Kickoff has some important questions to answer here. Who was the source of the story that Kickoff posted painting this emergency meeting as one that will merely endorse the Minister's action?

Furthermore, the usually antagonistic NewAge Sports has someone become mute on several of these matters since the appointment of Ojeikere. I wonder what has happened to his pre-appointment claim that he was fighting for the truth and the quest to see that Nigeria does not violate FIFA statutes.

In any case, what you have just posted is what I and I hope most Nigerians should expect. The Minister's action should not be tolerated. It certainly crossed the line. Just my 2-pence.

EnuguII

First, you know I cannot disclose sources if they dont want to be, and this one doesnt want to be. Secondly, it wasnt my story, but i know the source is usually reliable.

You can never ever be 100% sure of anything, and we do get it wrong sometimes and accept that as part of the risks we take in this business of information gathering where you depend on people to tell you what is going down. Its a fact of life. Even the best media house all over the world goof occasionally.

One thing we have always tried to do at KON is balance our stories. If we get this side today, we wil definitely get the other side 2moro, and where possible, put them side by side.

As for newAge, I cannot speak for them. Its every man to his tent O Israel.

[Penarity]

KOC:


Kickoff has some important questions to answer here. Who was the source of the story that Kickoff posted painting this emergency meeting as one that will merely endorse the Minister's action?

Furthermore, the usually antagonistic NewAge Sports has someone become mute on several of these matters since the appointment of Ojeikere. I wonder what has happened to his pre-appointment claim that he was fighting for the truth and the quest to see that Nigeria does not violate FIFA statutes.

In any case, what you have just posted is what I and I hope most Nigerians should expect. The Minister's action should not be tolerated. It certainly crossed the line. Just my 2-pence.

Either the source is known or not, left to me, Nigeria deserves the FIFA hammer so as to purge the yeye people wey dey run our affairs. Nonesense!

[ayomeks]

Whatever the problem is, let it augur well for Nigerian football.

[Enugu II]

KOC:

Thanks for the response. I must say that when I read the story on Kickoff (which btw is my first source of news), I was taken aback because I first thought that these board members were simply a bunch of sissies who have sold their souls. This is one fight that they ought to fight with all their might because they have FIFA's leverage on their side and precedence shows that the Minister cannot win this. So I asked, why meekly endorse the Minister's obvious transgression? However, I was more elated after reading other Nigerian news sources that indicated that a fight was indeed on.

In my opinion, I can simply conclude that the undisclosed source who spoke to Kickoff must have been one of the few that the Ministry had lobbied successfully and he attempt to use Kickoff to influence the opinion of the public and other board members. Kickoff should at the very least have contacted other board members before carying the story, IMO.

[Bell]

MINISTER'S ACTIONS MAY HAVE BEEN HIGH-HANDED, AND DECISIONS DEBATABLE, BUT...


...the performance of the NFA over a long period of time means that it can count on only miniscule public sympathy.
Bell

[ayomeks]

Don't blame kICK OFF
It is not their fault.
But my take is that football should be better for all the wahala that is currently running our football.

[Gotti]

I love Nigeria!
We never miss the opportunity to miss an opportunity!

[oluwaseye the 1st.]

And we have a world cup qualifier in less than 10 weeks time. This guys will surely kill 2006 wc.

[oluwaseye the 1st.]

And we have a world cup qualifier in less than 10 weeks time. This guys will surely kill 2006 wc.

[oluwaseye the 1st.]

And we have a world cup qualifier in less than 10 weeks time. This guys will surely kill 2006 wc.

[KoC]

Its like this: the Minister and the NFA board had agreed in principle that some principal staff of the NFA had to go, starting with Ogunjobi.

It was also agreed that their removal be delayed until after the New Year and the announcement to be made by the NFA chairman. Also, in the revised statutes approved by Fifa, it was stated that the government nominees would serve out their terms.

But the Minister, perhaps wanting to take the glory for sanitising the NFA, went ahead to announced the removals, and did so without the courtesy of informing the board.

Now, the problem here is that the minister's action negates all the good work done at Fifa headquarters.

Decree 101 is what is about to be trashed, and is what has Fifa's Sword of Damocles hanging over Nigeria. But it is under the ambit of the same Decree 101 that the Minister has acted in carrying out his sweeping reforms.

If he had stuck to the original arrangement of allowing the announcement to come from the NFA, this mess would not have arisen at all.

Now we are set for a huge confrontation, because my sources say the Minister is not willing to back down. neither is the NFA.

[furiously frank]

Thanks EII and KOC for your respective insight into this developing story. This is what I tell folks who understand little or nothing about journalism and yet go about yabbing bla bla about "sauces" and truth. In this business, you go with what you have with a little wiggle room here and there to cross check facts. Balancing comes in when you know you have been used and KON have been good at doing that.

[Robbynice]

And we have a world cup qualifier in less than 10 weeks time. This guys will surely kill 2006 wc.

Na WC qualifier you dey talk? We have the AYC in less than 3 weeks if I am not mistaken. And if Nigeria don't do well in that competition, they will blame the coach.

[KoC]

http://www.kickoffnigeria.com/stories/? ... fa_ban.php

Read and enjoy

[Obinna]

Gotti-

You said it best! Maybe sancations aganist the NFA might presents an opportunity at last.. But, knowing Nigeria like I do.. I doubt that would be enough

[Obinna]

Gotti-

You said it best! Maybe sancations aganist the NFA might presents an opportunity at last.. But, knowing Nigeria like I do.. I doubt that would be enough

[Enugu II]

http://www.kickoffnigeria.com/stories/? ... fa_ban.php

Read and enjoy

KOC:


Man, the agreement that you mentioned that was reached between the board (Galadima ?) and Minister was the best deal. If those changes were announced by Galadima then it would have been difficult to challenge those announcements. Right now, the board has taken the appropriate action --- FIGHT THIS TO THE BITTEREST END. Perhaps, Minister Musa will learn when to and when not to pick a fight.

If FIFA acts adversely then the public wrath will find this Minister's bags packed in no time. He will now have to appease Nigerian fans or deal with the consequences of appeasing his own self interest.

[Mister Dolly]

http://www.kickoffnigeria.com/stories/? ... fa_ban.php

Read and enjoy

KOC:


Man, the agreement that you mentioned that was reached between the board (Galadima ?) and Minister was the best deal. If those changes were announced by Galadima then it would have been difficult to challenge those announcements. Right now, the board has taken the appropriate action --- FIGHT THIS TO THE BITTEREST END. Perhaps, Minister Musa will learn when and when not to pick a fight.

I knew their was trouble brewing when I received a call from a board member on Sunday saying they were going to reject the minister's changes today...and when I spoke wit one of Ogunjobi's confidants yesterday and he was confident that his man was going nowhere, I knew the battleline had finally been drawn.

From what I also gathered from another source close to the newly appointed interim SG said Odegbami has been advised to start making noise about his appointment and come out with statements so as to give his position legitimacy.

The only casualty of this inpending war are the football aspirations of the whole nation as we are now witnessing power hungry officials going nuts over estacode potential..

[Enugu II]

MD:

Frankly, if it means sacrifising the U-20 and U-17 then so be it but the Minister and power-drunks like him must be called to order. From what KOC has mentioned, he had the opportunity to make this thing work by having Galadima duly make these announcements. He simply passed it up and chose to show his fangs instead. That cannot be tolerated and I am happy that that message will be sent. While I feel that some of those guys relieved should have been relieved, it was not the Minister's duty to do so.

[Mister Dolly]

MD:

Frankly, if it means sacrifising the U-20 and U-17 then so be it but the Minister and power-drunks like him must be called to order. From what KOC has mentioned, he had the opportunity to make this thing work by having Galadima duly make these announcements. He simply passed it up and chose to show his fangs instead. That cannot be tolerated and I am happy that that message will be sent. While I feel that some of those guys relieved should have been relieved, it was not the Minister's duty to do so.

EnuguII:
As I said somewhere else, if it is true that some of those dismissed by the minister including the SecGen had regularized their appoitments by getting enlisted in the civil service into the Sports Ministry, then the minister had the right to fire them as they are by default his staff. He however should have allowed the board to make the appointments which is where I felt he grossly erred.

[Enugu II]

MD:

Frankly, if it means sacrifising the U-20 and U-17 then so be it but the Minister and power-drunks like him must be called to order. From what KOC has mentioned, he had the opportunity to make this thing work by having Galadima duly make these announcements. He simply passed it up and chose to show his fangs instead. That cannot be tolerated and I am happy that that message will be sent. While I feel that some of those guys relieved should have been relieved, it was not the Minister's duty to do so.

EnuguII:
As I said somewhere else, if it is true that some of those dismissed by the minister including the SecGen had regularized their appoitments by getting enlisted in the civil service into the Sports Ministry, then the minister had the right to fire them as they are by default his staff. He however should have allowed the board to make the appointments which is where I felt he grossly erred.

Yes, if they were regularized as civil servants but I thought the reports indicated that they had letters indicating appointments by the NFA? As you point out, he had no business making those appointments.