NFF Officials Ready to Drag ICPC to Court as Presidential Power Failed to Save Them

By
Sylvanus Ofekun

As
reported by SCORENigeria that embattled
NFF president Amaju Pinnick and vice president Shehu Dikko have made a
desperate dash to the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, the country’s seat of power,
to beg Chief of Staff Abba Kyari to stop ICPC from continuing with a massive
corruption probe of the football federation.

However,a top official at the Presidency told only SCORENigeria: “They came
to the Villa on Saturday to beg Abba Kyari that he should personally intervene
so that they be left off the hook by ICPC.”

Both officials were overseas when their homes were taken into investigation
by ICPC.

But further investigation by thebreakingtimes.com
revealed that the Chief of Staff to the president was indifferent to grant their
request.

The officials resolved to challenge the ICPC in court on Monday.

On Friday, officials of the commission placed Pinnick’s house which is
inside Parkview Estate in Ikoyi, Lagos, under lock over the investigation on
corruption allegations levelled against him.

Earlier on Friday, ICPC had sealed the residence of the Chairman of the
League Management Company and second vice-president of NFF, Dikko, located at
No. 1 River-Benue Street, Maitama, Abuja, over alleged corrupt practices in the
federation.

The anti-graft agency said it was in connection with an ongoing
investigation on the alleged monumental mismanagement of funds meant for the
development of grassroots football in the country.

Mrs. Rasheedat Okoduwa, spokesperson of ICPC confirmed the development.

The top NFF officials have often boasted President Muhammadu Buhari’s
trusted chief of staff is a friend and a recent video series which exposed the
corruption at the NFF alleged that Kyari is one of the “powerful backers” of
the football chiefs, who have variously been investigated by all three of the
country’s anti-graft organisations.

Others listed as alleged “powerful backers” of the embattled officials include Minister of Justice and Attorney General Abubakar Malami, minister of state for Niger Delta Festus Keyamo, who until recently was the NFF counsel, and works and housing minister Babatunde Raji Fashola.

The NFF has been on the watch-list of the
anti-corruption agencies. The federation is also currently under investigation
by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Special
Presidential Investigation Panel on Recovery of Public Property (SPIP).

The executives of the federation have been
accused of diverting funds meant for the association.