What Nigerian football needs today is an urgent direct intervention by the Presidency through the National Sports Commission. It is no longer news that football is struggling in the country, and the only practical solution is for the Federal Government to act urgently through the Commission.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, following long-standing agitation from stakeholders against politicians serving as sports ministers, scrapped the Federal Ministry of Sports and appointed Mallam Shehu Dikko as Chairman of the National Sports Commission. Dikko, an experienced football administrator, was former Second Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for eight years and also Chairman of the League Management Company (LMC).
The President further appointed a renowned sports administrator, sports entrepreneur, and former Commissioner for Sports in Ogun State, Bukola Olopade, as Director-General of the National Sports Commission.
The key consideration of President Tinubu in these appointments was to arrest the declining fortunes of Nigerian football and fix its governance and structural defects, because if football—the nation’s number one sport—is fixed, other sports would follow. The appointments were not only meant to facilitate the transfer of funds from the Federation Account to the NFF and other sports federations for local and international competitions.
Section 3 of the National Sports Commission Act clearly defines the functions of the Commission and its oversight and coordinating responsibilities. The NFF is a parastatal under the National Sports Commission.
I quote an excerpt of Dikko’s speech on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on 23rd March 2026 in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State:
“Distinguished delegates, it is important that we speak honestly. The 2010 Statutes have become obsolete. They are no longer fit for purpose. They do not reflect modern governance standards, they do not sufficiently guarantee inclusivity or balanced stakeholder participation, and they do not align with the current direction of sports governance in Nigeria, as envisioned by evolving global practices.
What may have seemed adequate in 2010 has clearly become inadequate for Nigerian football in 2026 and beyond. The game has evolved, governance expectations have changed, and Nigeria itself has moved forward. Our frameworks must move with it and align with the Renewed Hope and Shared Prosperity Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR).
This Assembly therefore carries a very important responsibility. It must set aside personal interests and immediate benefits, and drive a reform process that is deliberate, inclusive, and aligned with both international standards and national realities.
The reform process must ensure that all critical stakeholders—including players, clubs, leagues, referees, coaches, and administrators—are meaningfully represented. As a result, football, which is the national sport of Nigeria, cannot operate outside the expectations of inclusion, accountability, transparency, and alignment with national policy direction. Indeed, football should be the driver of this vision.”
Immediately after the President’s speech was delivered by the Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Ibrahim Gusau, and his group proceeded with their congress, defying President Tinubu’s directives by dismantling the NFF statutes and making them even worse than the 2010 statute. They went further to set up an electoral committee a week later and inaugurated it.
So who is Gusau and his group to defy a presidential directive? This brazen act went without consequences. Even the 2026 World Cup failure was swept under the carpet with a dubious petition to FIFA against DR Congo. No commission of inquiry was set up to ascertain why Nigeria failed to qualify for the World Cup in a group with Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Rwanda.
Sadly, the National Sports Commission under Dikko is watching helplessly as the same group that has been mismanaging Nigerian football for over a decade continues on the same path. If there is no conspiracy, then it is very worrisome that a veteran football administrator like Dikko, who thoroughly understands Nigeria’s football challenges—having served at the highest level and contested elections severally—now sits as Chairman of the National Sports Commission and still cannot fix Nigerian football.
Other countries are taking proactive steps and direct intervention to fix their football. France did it, Spain did it, and in Africa, DR Congo and Kenya are taking similar steps.
It is crystal clear that, two years in, the Dikko-led National Sports Commission lacks the courage and capacity to fix Nigerian football. Perhaps a properly constituted National Sports Commission Board would make the difference.
For now, Nigerian football stakeholders must take their destiny into their own hands, as Nigerian football appears set to sink deeper into the abyss. Maybe past Nigerian presidents were right to appoint politicians as sports ministers, because we cannot see the difference.
Prince Harrison Jalla
Chairman, Advocacy for Nigeria Football Reform Concepts
