House of Rep members, NFF clash over nonpayment of Super Falcons allowance

The House of Representatives Adhoc committee investigating the face-off between Super Falcons and Official of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), over nonpayment of allowance and entitlement clashed on Wednesday during the hearing session.

Some lawmakers who are members of the adhoc committee had accused the chairman of the House committee on sports, Ekene Adams of conniving with the NFF president, Ibrahim Gusau to frustrate their assignment

It was gathered that Adams had asked the NFF president not to appear before the committee for reasons best known to him.

At the sitting of the adhoc committee on Tuesday, the chairman of the adhoc committee investigating the crisis, Blessing Onu, however summoned the NFF president over failure to appear before the committee.

She also walked out the Secretary-General of the NFF, Mohammed Sanusi from the venue of the hearing.

Re-inviting the NFF president, Onuh 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 adhoc committee.

According to her, the NFF president was supposed to appear before the adhoc committee on August 17, but gave reasons which she said were not as important as the work of the 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, but 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, Sanusi said that the NFF President could not attend the investigative hearing because of his ill-health.