By Gift Chapi-Odekina
The House of Representatives Ad hoc committee investigating the Face-off between Supper Falcons and the Official of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), over non-payment of allowance and entitlement has summoned the NFF president over refusal to appear before the ad hoc committee.
The development appears to be a war path with the Chairman, House of Reps Standing Committee, Rep. Ekene Adams and the ad-hoc committee led by Rep Blessing Onu due to a purported instruction given by Adams to the NFF president, Mr Ibrahim Gusau to shun the invitation by Rep. Blessing Onu, the Chairman of the ad hoc committee investigating the face-off.
Vanguard gathered that Adams had asked the NFF president not to appear before the committee for reasons best known to him.
At the time of the sitting of the ad hoc committee on Tuesday, the chairman, Onu, however, summoned the NFF president over failure to appear before the committee.
Re-inviting the NFF president, the chairman of the Ad hoc committee said the sitting of the committee was not to witch-hunt anyone but to discharge its functions in line with the mandate of the House.
Onuh who issued the notice, frowned at the NFF President’s deliberate refusal to honour the invitation of the Ad hoc committee.
According to her, the NFF president was supposed to appear before the ad hoc committee on the 17th of August but unfortunately, the reasons NFF president gave were not as important as the work of this ad hoc committee.
“Nigerians are interested, Nigerians are watching. The girls did extremely well and they made Nigerians proud, so we shouldn’t take this investigative hearing likely.
“We gave an opportunity for the president of NFF to appear before this Ad-hoc Committee I will say invariably he is the one summoning us, he came up with an excuse that is not as important as what we have.
“The allowances and the dues that were supposed to be paid to the female footballers, the Super Falcons and he turned it down, what is more important is it for him to attend the FIFA Women Convention or to appear before this Committee?
“And even at that he has the effrontery to send his SA that he won’t be able to make it, it simply means he is taking us for granted, he is taking us for a ride and we will not tolerate it we will not,” she noted.
Speaking earlier, the NFF Secretary General, Dr Mohammed Sanusi said that the NFF President could not attend the investigative hearing because of his ill-health.
The ad hoc committee however also walked out the Secretary-General and his team who came to represent the NFF president.
Meanwhile, , some concerned lawmakers under the condition of anonymity at the sideline of the investigative hearing, accused the Chairman of the House Committee on Sports, Adams of frustrating the exercise.
They alleged that the NFF President was asked not to appear before the Ad-hoc committee for personal reasons.
Source: Vanguard