Ikpeme may replace Sanusi as NFF Secretary General

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF)

There are strong indications that the Deputy Secretary in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme, may be appointed as the new scribe of the football federation today.

The chairman of Zamfara Football Association, Ibrahim Gusau, emerged as the new NFF president last Friday in Benin City during the elective congress of the football body.

The Guardian learnt yesterday that the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has already commenced the process to replace the incumbent NFF Secretary General, Mohammed Sanusi, who is from the same geo-political zone with the new president (Gusau).

Apart from the issue of his geographical zone, Sanusi was said to have fallen foul of civil service etiquette through an alleged wrong move he made during the NFF election.

Sanusi was said to have displayed ‘absolute disrespect’ for the Sports Ministry and the office of the Minister, Sunday Dare, in the build-up to the NFF election in Benin City.

According to a source, Sanusi allegedly wrote a letter in mid-September, this year, to report the Federal Government to FIFA for interfering in the NFF election.

“Sanusi sent a copy of his letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Sports Ministry. The NFF is still a parastatal under the Ministry and answerable to the Minister. The Ministry is the supreme body responsible for the administration of sports in Nigeria and it is fully empowered by the constitution.

“Sanusi and the NFF thought they could use FIFA to blackmail Nigeria. Disrespecting constituted authority is taking it too far by the Secretary-General. He (Sanusi) has created problems for the new NFF president by his behaviour and is likely to be ejected from the NFF secretariat because he is a