Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme and Dr Ayo Abdulrahaman have assumed new leadership roles at the Nigeria Football Federation and Nigeria Premier Football League respectively, as part of efforts to ensure continuity in football administration following the resignation of the federation’s top officials.
The National Sports Commission endorsed Ikpeme, who previously served as Deputy General Secretary of the NFF, to oversee the federation’s secretariat as interim General Secretary.
Dr Ademola Olajire, the former Director of Media and Communications, has also been appointed interim Deputy General Secretary.
The appointments followed the resignation on Thursday of NFF President Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary Dr Mohammed Sanusi and members of the federation’s Executive Committee.
Meanwhile, the NFF on Friday appointed Abdulrahaman as Chief Operating Officer of the NPFL, with the decision taking effect immediately.
His appointment coincided with the opening of the new NPFL season, which began with a clash between CAF Confederation Cup representatives Shooting Stars and newly promoted Inter Lagos FC at the Adamasingba Stadium in Ibadan.
Abdulrahaman, who holds a doctorate in sports administration, is expected to bring his experience across Nigeria’s various football leagues to his new role.
According to Ikpeme, Abdulrahaman’s appointment followed a directive issued on Thursday for all board members, chief executives and non-NFF staff serving as Chief Operating Officers of the various leagues to vacate their positions.
Under the new arrangement, chairmen, appointed directors and chief executives of the NPFL, Nigeria National League, Nigeria Women Football League and Nationwide League One have been directed to hand over the administration of their respective competitions to NFF-employed Chief Operating Officers.
Where an existing COO is not an NFF staff member, the federation is expected to deploy a replacement.
The sweeping changes have also affected plans for the NFF Elective Congress, which had been scheduled for September 27. All processes connected to the election have been suspended.
A fresh electoral process will only begin after comprehensive reforms of football administration have been completed in consultation with the Confederation of African Football and FIFA.
The restructuring follows President Bola Tinubu’s directive for a comprehensive overhaul of Nigerian football administration amid concerns over the country’s repeated failures to qualify for major regional, continental and global competitions.
Tinubu said the reform should address longstanding weaknesses in governance, administration, stakeholder representation, player development pathways, domestic competitions and accountability within Nigerian football.
The President also noted that while other sports had made progress following the re-establishment of the National Sports Commission, football continued to struggle because of structural deficiencies.
He consequently directed the Chairman of the National Sports Commission to work with the NFF Secretariat and other stakeholders to maintain continuity in football administration while pursuing a broad-based reform process in consultation with FIFA and CAF.
