NAN
The interpretation of the Supreme Court judgment by the Attorney-General of the Federation will determine the fate of football leadership in Nigeria, says Solomon Dalung, Minister of Youths and Sports.
Dalung who made the remark while speaking with newsmen, in Abuja, on Wednesday, cautioned the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to await the interpretation of the judgement before going ahead with its elections.
Dalung had earlier, in May, called on the NFF to put off its election billed for September to enable it concentrate on the FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Dalung noted that the Federal Government has invested so much towards qualifying and achieving a respectable World Cup result, stressing that a call for purchase of forms and setting up of an electoral committee at this time was a distraction.
Dalung’s words, “I don’t want to join issue with anybody who is buying form, but the most important thing now for this country is the World Cup.
“Like I say, the election is about electing 15 persons into the board of NFF while the World Cup is a passion of about 180 million Nigerians.
“So, it is ridiculous for anybody to imagine that after investing so much in preparing for the World Cup, at this point trade it off for elections of a 15-member board.
“More so that I have also drawn their attention that there is a Supreme Court judgement that we have been served, and we have sent the judgement to the Attorney General of the Federation for advice.
“Therefore everything that we must do now must wait for the outcome of the advice of the Attorney General because it will determine the fate of football leadership in Nigeria,’’ he said.