The Nigerian Football Federation on Thursday passed a vote of confidence on the Amaju Pinnick-led Executive Committee, affirming that it remained the duly elected committee recognised by FIFA.
The football body also warned that future litigation brought against the Federation before “ordinary courts of law” by any of its members would attract the automatic expulsion of the erring member.
The decision came 24 hours after a Federal High Court in Jos, Plateau State, refused to grant Pinnick’s request to stop Chris Giwa from taking over as the NFF President.
Justice Musa Kurya of a Federal High Court in Jos had on June 5 made an ex parte order directing the current NFF board to vacate the Glass House for Giwa and his followers
But rising from its extraordinary general assembly held in Benin, the Edo State capital, the Federation in a communique made available to newsmen, said that the issue bordering on the 2014 NFF elections had been duly disposed of by the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Switzerland, with its ruling of May 18, 2015, upon a petition against FIFA and NFF by Giwa and others.
“Therefore, there is no basis or foundation for the current court actions in the Federal High Court, Jos, in suit number: FHC/J/CS/177/2014, over the same matter as it is clearly ultra vires to football rules and regulations. It is simply an unnecessary distraction to and detraction from the sustainable growth of football in Nigeria and has the potential to get Nigeria suspended from being a member of the global football family, FIFA,” it said.
“The congress unanimously resolved that, henceforth, any member of the football family that takes any football matter to the ordinary courts of law would be automatically expelled from all football activities with immediate effect from the date of filing such proceedings or lawsuit,” the NFF added.
It further stated that having duly deliberated on the current situation and in view of the calls from stakeholders to provide a lasting solution, it had approved the provision of conditions for any stakeholder, “including Chris Giwa and his collaborators, to retrace their steps and reconcile with the football family”.
The NFF general assembly said that aggrieved stakeholders must dismiss all pending court cases against the football federation and its leadership within two weeks, file affidavits in court to affirm to be bound by and uphold the football statutes and undertake not to take any football matter to court, in order to have their sanctions lifted.
