A state football chairman has said that the 'so called peace agreement entered into by the NFF leadership on one hand and the Sports Minister on the other was subject to the ratification of the General Assembly, which is football's supreme organ in this country.
Present at the National Assembly on Monday during the public hearing in pursuant of the repeal of the NFA Act, the chairman who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Board of the NFF cannot just in "one signature confer an Honorary status on any one without passing through the General Assembly. This
is not a personal opinion, it is a popular one and we will ask questions when the time comes.
Dr. Sam Sam Jaja who obtained judgment against the name Nigeria Football Federation, according to the peace agreement reached by the minister and NFF Executive, would be made Honorary Member of the NFF aside other compensations. Ray Nnaji who had a case pending in court was asked to withdraw the case for some compensations too.
The FA Chairman said he spoke the minds of many of his colleagues. He said further:
"Who knows we may be convinced, but you know the processes involved in conferring Honorary status on people. Either they were past officers of the body involved who served meritoriously till retirement, or they must have singularly contributed immensely to the growth of their culture medium, in this case football."
Also shrouded in confusion is whether the Honorary status is for the Board of the NFF or the Nigeria Premier League board where he declared interest and was disqualified.
Nnaji also sought to contest election into the League Board but was disqualified.
In his own defence Dr. Sam Sam Jaja said on Monday in Abuja that during the meeting called to enthrone peace, he did not ask for any compensation.
"I want to put it on record that I did not ask for any compensation. All I wanted was for the NFF to clear my name and tender an unreserved apology to me. It is the NFF that offered the Honorary status.
" I know you do not take football matters to court, but after I was disqualified from the elections, I petitioned the NFF to know why I was disqualified and got no reply.
Then I petitioned the National Assembly and the SSS. When no reply was forthcoming, I had to go to court to exercise my fundamental human right and clear my name given that in future someone may want to aim for a higher office only to be retarded by a past that he did not know anything about," the Deputy Chairmanship candidate of the People's Democratic Party( PDP) said.
Jaja is held in his esteem in many quarters including football where he retired as a world class referee. He was once the chairman of Referees Association and once the Rivers State chairman of Electoral Commission. Nnaji was also a former sports commissioner in Enugu State and one time national officer of the PDP. He was national deputy Auditor
Vanguard Nigeria