Minister of Youths and Sports Dismisses 'illegal' NFF Congress

By Admin Sports minister Solomon Dalung has restated that an extra-ordinary NFF congress in Benin City on Thursday was illegal as Amaju Pinnick and his executive committee are not known to the laws of Nigeria and as such any decisions taken at such a gathering are inconsequential. It was also further gathered that the Giwa group is far from impressed with the conditional concessions proposed by the assembly in Benin City, which was devoid of the presence of officials from the host government of Edo State. Pinnick’s group dared the minister by going ahead with the meeting even after Dalung had formally warned them of the legal implications. Dalung stated that the meeting in Benin City was a contempt of court as the leadership tussle at the NFF is before a court and as such an affront which attracts “severe” consequences. “The decision of the court is unambiguous that the Amaju executive did not exist,” he said in a statement. “Therefore there will be no force of law that will create it. The orders allowed declared any decisions, resolutions and actions taken as null and void abinitio. “Consequently any action taken by them or myself in furtherance to illegality is contempt which may attract severe consequences. In law nothing has taken place.” The Giwa group was equally not impressed by the decisions reached by the Pinnick group. These decisions included re-admitting Chris Giwa’s club, Giwa FC, to the second-tier Nigeria National League after they were expelled from the top league for breaches of the rules and regulations of the NPFL. The international ban on Giwa and his top officials will also be lifted were Giwa to withdraw the cases against the NFF in court, according to the gathering in Benin City. “It was a non-event. There is nothing to discuss here,” one of the officials told newsmen, refusing to volunteer any more comments.