Revealed: How Ruth David Diverted FG's N32,553,360 Meant For Super Falcons Friendly Match

Revealed: How Ruth David Diverted N32,553,360 Meant For Super Falcons Friendly Match

By Agunbiade Aderonke

Like the dawn of a new day, another scandal of funds mismanagement has rocked the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, with controversy over how payment for an unplayed friendly match involving Super Falcons and Rivers Angels was allegedly received by Miss Ruth David.

BSNSports.com.ng can report that the former Head, Women Football, Nigeria Football Federation, Miss Ruth David has allegedly diverted Ninety thousand, Four hundred and twenty six US Dollars ($90,426) (N32,553,360 million naira) (at N350 per Dollar) meant for service of a friendly match for the Nigeria senior women national team.

The said amount as appeared in a federal government of Nigeria payment voucher with Departmental number: NFF/Don/Pr/558/15, checked and passed for payment at Abuja treasury station, with the station's head number 053900200100 with sub-head number 22021009 was paid to and received by Miss Ruth David for a friendly match between the Super Falcons of Nigeria and Rivers Angels ahead of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada.

The payment voucher reads: "Being amount approved to the above named officer (Ruth David) as convertion of dollar equivalent to service the Super Falcons Vs Rivers Angels warm-up match before traveling to Canada for the camping and world cup proper."

Payee: Ruth David

Address: NFF-ABUJA

Date: 18/5/2015

BSN Sports investigation across board showed that Miss Ruth David allegedly received the amount and after several findings, BSN Sports can authoritatively revealed that the match which was paid for did not hold.

All expenses for the unplayed warm-up game which was organized to put the Super Falcons in proper shape ahead of the 2015 World Cup in Canada was also paid for.

Recall that Ruth David was demoted from Head of Women Football to the department of International Football by the NFF, after she was allegedly fingered as a factor why Super Falcons failed to pick Olympic ticket when Cote d'Ivoire bundled the African champions out of the tournament in Lagos.

It is no doubt, that such denial to play such warm up game in 2015 affected their performance as the team crashed out in the group stage of the Women's World Cup in Canada.

It is in this light, that BSN Sports picked interest to unravel one of the factors that led to the abysmal performance of Super Falcons at the 2015 World Cup in Canada.

At the World Cup, the Super Falcons who managed to draw 3-3 with Sweden lost 0-1 to France and 0-2 to Australia to exit the championship at the group stage.

When our correspondent called Ruth David on Wednesday to hear her side of the story, she refused to neither picked nor returned her calls. After three attempts, the correspondent then sent text messages to her twice, with three hours interval but despite the efforts to hear her side, having ignored the calls and text messages, the correspondent also on Thursday, called her after 30 hours since the first call. She however, ignored the calls.

When all attempts to get her reaction failed, our correspondent also reached the coach of the Super Falcons in 2015, Edwin Okon, who refuses to respond to the question on whether the match was played or not.

He said: 'Why are you asking me this kind question? My friend, i am not ready for this." He angrily ended the call.

Several attempts to talk to him again proved abortive as he refuses to pick his calls afterward.