THE House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the alleged mismanagement of financial grants totaling $25 million allegedly received by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) from FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) between 2015 and 2025.
Lawmakers adopted a motion of urgent public importance on Tuesday, sponsored by Adedayo Adesola (Lagos) and Felix Nwaeke (Rivers), demanding a full probe into the NFF’s handling of international football grants.
The motion, titled “Misuse of FIFA and CAF Grants by the Nigerian Football Federation,” expressed concern that years of alleged financial irregularities within the NFF contributed to the decline in the performance of Nigeria’s national teams.
Reacting to this, the lawmakers argued that repeated financial irregularities and lack of transparency within the federation had undermined public trust and contributed to Nigeria’s poor football performance.
Citing examples, Adesola recalled that in 2016, FIFA raised an audit query over the handling of a $1.1 million development grant by the NFF, noting that $802,000 of the amount lacked proper documentation.
He added that this prompted the former Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, to order an independent audit and asked the NFF to account for receipts and disbursements.
“The House notes that between 2018 and 2019, NFF officials (including the then president, (Amaju Pinnick) faced public criticism and were subject to EFCC and ICPC probes and court actions tied to alleged mismanagement of various funds and sponsorship,” he said.
Adesola also referenced an alleged $1.2 million grant that the NFF said to have used for the construction of the Birnin Kebbi Stadium, describing the facility as ‘substandard’ and unworthy of the amount claimed to have been spent.
“One of these monies, a $1.2 million, is the subject of a news item currently trending on social media, which NFF allegedly used to construct Birnin Kebbi Stadium.
“We are concerned that a physical inspection of the stadium in Birnin Kebbi showed that it is a substandard facility in terms of quality and quantity, which cannot justify the sum of $1.2 million claimed to have been spent on the project by the NFF.”
He compared the stadium with a similar project in Kenya, where the same amount was used to build a modern, fully equipped sports complex.
He stressed that with the Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifiers approaching, there is an urgent need for accountability to prevent further waste of public funds.
Following deliberations, the House unanimously adopted the motion and resolved to establish a special investigative committee to review all NFF financial transactions since 2015.
The committee is expected also summon the NFF leadership to present detailed records of receipts and expenditures related to the FIFA and CAF grants.
The move by the House came days after FIFA shared photos of the Birnin Kebbi Stadium project on its official social media pages.
The photo of the partially completed Birnin Kebbi Stadium quickly went viral, drawing outrage and speculation from fans, who questioned how such a project could represent progress under the FIFA Forward Programme, an initiative meant to promote grassroots football development.
In December 2023, Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris reportedly inaugurated the FIFA/NFF-supported stadium project, stating that it was intended to “boost the morale of youths in the state.”
He stated that the project cost $1.183 million, adding that the state government provided four hectares of land and paid N19 million in compensation to the affected landowners.
Recall that in May 2023, FIFA had highlighted the Kebbi project as part of its dedication to developing grassroots football, noting on its InsideFIFA website: “It is no surprise, then, that Birnin Kebbi, the capital of Kebbi, was chosen back in 2020 as the site for the construction of an artificial football pitch now available for young boys and girls to use.
“Meanwhile, a second pitch is under construction in Ugborodo… these two ambitious projects have received around USD 2 million in funding from FIFA through its Forward Programme,” its statement added
