Sports minister, Barrister Solomon Dalung has tasked the reconciliation committee of elders and stakeholders he inaugurated on Monday to find quick solutions to the crisis rocking Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
While acknowledging that personal interests have caused the prolonged leadership tussle to continue unabated, Dalung urged the six–man committee headed by former chairman of then Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Abdulmumini Aminu to find peaceful solutions to all contending issues.
The committee, which also has two other former NFA chairmen, Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima and Anthony Kojo Williams, among its members has two weeks to submit its report.
A secretariat has been provided for proper arrangement and documentation of activities of the committee, to be manned by Danjuma Muhammed Acting Director, Legal Services, Stanley Okebugwu and Reuben Tiyatiye.
The committee, which Dalung said was set up sequel to a decision at the Stakeholders Roundtable on Governance Challenges of the NFF held on July 24, also has among its members Professor Onye Gyd-Wado, Dr Sam Sam Jaja and Honourable Bolaji Ojo-Oba.
While inaugurating the committee, Dalung also noted that lingering crisis in the NFF has impeded the desired growth and development of football in the country.
The sports minister went on to exhort the need for selfless service in The Glasshouse, stressing that the crisis will continue unabated if personal interests are not set aside.
He added: “(The committee will) identify the causes of the current leadership crisis in the NFF, evaluate the dimensions of the leadership crisis and the contribution of actors to the issue.
“(They will) invite both boards of the two factions to the reconciliation table with a view to addressing their concerns towards achieving a sustainable and win-win solution to the crisis.
“(At the end, they will) make recommendations to ensure smooth leadership succession without adversely affecting the development and management of football in Nigeria.
“Unless we put aside our parochial interests and differences and work towards the common goal of combating the evil plaguing Nigerian football, it will continue its free fall.
“This, any responsible government will not allow, hence the need for this committee of distinguished elders.”
