FIFA has disclosed Nigeria will no longer be suspended after the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) complied with a recent directive.
However, the world football governing body warned they will suspend the country if there were any more hindrance to elections into the NFF executive committee this month.
Nigeria risked a FIFA ban had persons claiming to have won elections into the NFF executive committee not vacated the federation’s office on the FIFA deadline of Monday morning.
On Tuesday afternoon, NFF president Aminu Maigari and several of his executive committee members reported to the office.
This was after general secretary Musa Amadu and top management staff of the NFF returned to their office the previous day with Amadu confirming that the crisis was over.
“We note that you and the management of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) were able to return to office and work without hindrance,” said FIFA secretary general Jerome Valke in a letter dated September 8.
“We also note that the persons claiming to have been elected vacated the premises of the NFF.
“Against this background, we would like to confirm that the conditions set in FIFA’s aforementioned correspondence of September 3 2014 have been complied with and that the NFF is accordingly not suspended.”
However, FIFA warned that should there be any hindrance to planned elections into the executive committee this month, Nigeria would be automatically suspended till the FIFA congress in May 2015.
“We welcome the positive steps which contribute to the normalisation of the situation. We now wait for the NFF executive committee to meet as soon as possible in order to convene an extraordinary general assembly to decide on the roadmap leading to the elections which should be open to all persons complying with the NFF statutes and regulations,” Valke further said.
“These elections should also be organised as soon as possible under the NFF statutes and regulations.
“We would inform you should the electoral process be affected by any interference or mishap, the case will be referred again – and without prior notice or warning – to the appropriate FIFA bodies for immediate suspension of the NFF until the next FIFA congress.”
In the meantime, the persons who claim to have been elected recently have now taken their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
“A case is pending before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS),” confirmed CAS communications officer, Katy Hogg.
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