The Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh has given a hint that some drastic actions may soon be taken to restore the country’s football which is on a nose dive.
Speaking at the weekend on Chief Segun Odegbami’s Eagle7 radio programme monitored in Lagos, Senator Enoh said that he cannot continue to watch while things go bad with the country’s football because of the fear of FIFA ban those running football have been drumming into his ears.
“I cannot continue to keep quiet any longer over the affairs of the NFF because of fear of FIFA ban. I will continue to walk the fine line that protects the interest and emotions of Nigerians who expect nothing but good results and that our football be run properly, so that results posted by our teams add to their happiness and liveliness”, he stressed.
The minister said that he has his reservations about the threat of FIFA ban because “we are a sovereign country, the government spent about N17bn to clear outstanding debts owed by the NFF recently, it wasn’t spent by FIFA”.
Continuing, the minister said, “whether we qualify for the World Cup or not may not seem a problem to FIFA but it is a problem to Nigerians.
“Football is too much for Nigerians for the minister or ministry of sports development to leave in the hands of some people. It cannot continue to proceed as the exclusive preserve of some people because they are NFF”.
He added that he had to summon the NFF big wigs recently because “the outcomes of the World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic were not acceptable.
While also blaming the players for not showing enough hunger and commitment in the national team, he expressed optimism that “we can still qualify if everything is done right in the remaining six matches in the qualifiers”.