NSC Chairman Defends NFF Amid $1.2 Million FIFA Fund Misappropriation Allegations

Following allegations of $1.2 million FIFA fund misappropriation levelled against the Nigeria Football Federation by members of the public, the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko, has come out to defend the football governing body in the country.

It will be recalled that a series of publications on social media have been made regarding a certain $1.2 million FIFA fund allocated to the NFF for the construction of a mini-stadium in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State. The picture in circulation showed the state of the stadium, and a series of questions have arisen about how such a huge amount was spent only on building that kind of stadium. The NSC boss has now said that the NFF didn’t receive any money, and the project in question was managed directly by FIFA.

“That is where people are getting it wrong; no one collected the money. I’m not here to defend the NFF, but as the leader of sports in Nigeria, what happens to the NFF affects the entire sports ecosystem,” he said on Channel TV.
“I was a manager of FIFA projects, and I know how FIFA works. The NFF’s role is only to provide land and specify the project needs. FIFA handles procurement and payments to the contractor.”

Dikko clarified that the social media image shows only the first phase of the project. He attributed the rising costs to fluctuations in the naira-dollar exchange rate, explaining that the project's 2015 approval predated the higher 2020 contract signing costs due to land acquisition delays. The House Committee on Sports is investigating the NFF's use of FIFA/CAF grants, with the Kebbi project at the center of its focus.