Come For NFF Elections In Benin And Get Arrested - PFAN Warns FIFA, CAF Supervisors

Come For NFF Elections In Benin And Get Arrested - PFAN Warns FIFA, CAF Supervisors

The Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN) has issued a firm warning to FIFA and CAF officials hoping to come and observe the forthcoming Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) elections that they risk being arrested by security agents, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

PFAN offshoot, Task Force, via a statement signed by its Deputy General Secretary and former Delta State Football Association boss, Edema Fuludu, made the warning known.

Part of it read: "The claimants are already pressing Contempt charge against all those violating a subsisting Order of a competent Court of jurisdiction, however, the claimants will not hesitate to join any FIFA or CAF official who may have been deceived to come to Nigeria to supervise any purported election as their safety and liberty from arrest will not be guaranteed."

"Elections into Nigeria's apex football body are due on September 30th in Benin City, Edo State.

Other content in the release, explained why the players union want an amendment of certain sections of the NFF 2010 Statutes as Amended.

"The (PFAN), is one of the Statutory bodies making up the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in consonance with Article 10.1 of the NFF Statutes 2010 as Amended. In line with relevant provisions of the NFF Statutes the Professional

Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN) through its Task Force

officially made a 90-day mandatory demand notice dated the 26th day of

June 2021 to the NFF for the amendment of certain sections of the NFF 2010 Statutes as Amended.

"There was no response from the NFF even though FIFA, CAF, and the

Minister of Sports were in a copy of this demand notice.

The PFAN Task Force further gave another 14 days that was also

ignored in their usual characteristic of not listening to good reasoning

from its members.

"Rather than addressing these complaints they hurriedly convened a

congress in Benin City, Edo state which the Players Union again communicated to the former President of the NFF Amaju Pinnick through the General Secretary that the Congress was not properly convened in consonance with Article 29 of the Statutes of the NFF which Article 7 of the same statutes frowns at.

"And in defiance of the provisions of Article 3 the leadership of the NFF

discriminately formed a purported Rival Players Union using the

Personal Assistant of the outgone President (Mr Amaju Melvin Pinnick)

to break our ranks and frustrate the demands of the Players Union.

That the PFAN has been part and parcel and voted in all previous Congresses and Elections not limited to but including the 2014 and 2018 Elective Assembly in Warri and the Katsina States respectively.

However, the Union was barred from being part of the congress of the 18th

day of August 2022 in Lagos which is not in agreement with Article 10.1

and 22 subs (D) to avoid the demands for Statutes Amendment from the

Union.

PFAN made an official complaint about the conduct of the former President Amaju Pinnick to the FIFA Ethics Committee in a letter dated the 14th day of October 2021.

Having exhausted the internal mechanism of complaints within the NFF regarding being disenfranchised and excluded in the composition of the NFF Board, its Congress and sub-committees with one member (The States Football Associations) having 37 votes in the 44-member General

Assembly, and 11 out of 14 members on the NFF Board.

And having failed to establish any internal arbitration process to resolve

internal disputes hence, the NFF have adopted the conventional court as

means of resolving issues as enshrined in Article 1.1 of the Statutes of the NFF which the outgone Board was a beneficiary of a Judgment of the Court of Appeal, Jos Division, in Suit No. CA/ J/ 119/2016.

On the strength of this, the PFAN Task Force approached the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja praying the court to address the issues on a skewed NFF Statutes which imbalance in representation tilted towards 37 voting rights to one member (States Football Association Chairmen).

With a pending matter in court in which the NFF was dully represented in several sittings so, if they still proceeded with the activities to conduct the purported September 30th 2022 election the claimants and the Court will be helpless it was in the light of the above the court ordered on the 15th day of September 2022 that the election be put on hold until the substantive matter is heard and resolved.

It's therefore imperative for FIFA to be abreast with the true situation with

Nigeria Football.

That the issue at hand is an internal matter involving members of the

Nigeria Football Federation using the ready approved and recognized

mechanism of resolving issues for ease of reference Article 1.1

"Nigeria Football Federation is a private organization of an associative nature in compliance with the laws of Nigeria. It is formed for an unlimited period."

As of today the NFF is not a registered body and is not known to the laws of the land (Nigeria) as in FIFA where it is registered under the Swiss laws. Even the dominant 37 States Football Associations are not juristic personalities yet they are the ones overriding the congress and foreclosing other members in connivance with the Executive Committee.