Chris Green: NFF crisis caused by conflict between Nigerian laws and FIFA statutes

By Admin Executive committee member of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Chris Green, has identified conflict between the Nigerian law and the statutes of FIFA as the root cause of the leadership crisis that has again rocked the national sport. “We must all come together to resolve the impasse”, Green, a lawyer, said. “One way or the other, one must shift ground. That’s the way to go, to find a common ground. “There is a conflict between the Nigerian law and that of FIFA. “And no matter how you look at it, our national law must take precedence”. Nigeria is at the brink of FIFA sanctions following issues of disagreement between two factions arising from differences during elections four years ago with each other laying claim to the NFF leadership. Chris Giwa is unbending in claiming leadership of NFF following a Jos High Court order as endorsed by the Supreme Court, while Amaju Pinnick has enjoyed the backing of FIFA as the president of the NFF elected by the congress. Rivers State FA chairman Green maintained the parties concerned must therefore come together to find a soft landing. He reckoned that NFA or NFF is a creation of Nigerian law which must take precedence to FIFA. “NFA or NFF is a creation of Nigerian law. It is only affiliated to FIFA,” he argued. “NFF gets subvention from Nigerian government and defends her budget before the National Assembly of Nigeria. “Besides, the NFF staff are paid by the Nigerian Government through the ministry of Youth and Sports. “So, what are we talking about? The NFF is established by Nigerian government law and at present the law (Decree 101) has not been repealed or turned to an act of parliament for NFF to stand on its own. “Like I said earlier, everyone must come together, ready to shift some ground for this problem to be sorted out. “But we must understand that we are part of FIFA by affiliation, while Nigerian government or law is the creator of NFF.”