Former Nigeria international and chairman, Advocacy for Nigeria Football Reform Concepts, Harrison Jalla, has alleged that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) only concocted a “fake” petition against DR Congo to divert the attention of football-loving Nigerians and the Federal Government from their mismanagement of the country’s bid to qualify for the Mundial.

Nigeria could not qualify for the World Cup to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from an African qualifying group comprising Rwanda, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Benin Republic and South Africa.

Following DR Congo’s defeat of Jamaica in the inter-confederation playoff on Tuesday, some stakeholders alleged that the NFF claim that it filed a petition against DR Congo for fielding ineligible players in the African playoff final, where they defeated Nigeria, was a rouse since the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) did not make any pronouncement on the case before the intercontinental playoff in Mexico.

Jalla, who aligns with the allegation, said that the NFF took that route to divert the attention of millions of Nigerians and the Presidency from probing their handling of the failure to make the World Cup for a second consecutive time.

But in a swift reaction to Jalla’s allegations, the NFF Media Director, Ademola Olajire, said: “Jalla has been saying all sorts of things. I don’t have anything to say on this, it is not different from what he has been saying in the past.”

Shedding further light on his grouse, Jalla asked: “What is the situation with the petition against DR Congo? The Nigeria Football Federation remains a huge joke. The NFF, after failing to qualify back-to-back for the 2022 and 2026 World Cups, due mainly to administrative lapses, gross incompetence and corruption, despite the ten qualification slots offered to Africa, attempted, in a failed bid, to divert the attention of football-loving Nigerians and the Federal Government.

“The NFF concocted a fake petition against DR Congo, in which they alleged dual citizenship, amongst other accusations, against DRC players, and submitted it to FIFA.

“The so-called secret petition was intentionally filed out of time, sent to the wrong email address, and with no protest fees paid,” he stated.

According to Jalla, the clear intention was to deceive President Bola Tinubu and Nigerians in general into believing that Nigeria would qualify for the World Cup through a petition that the petitioners knew very well was not properly filed before FIFA.

“Surprisingly, the National Sports Commission, through its Chairman, sustained this narrative to Mr. President and the nation.

“Where is a copy of the petition? Who filed it? Where is a copy of FIFA’s response? Where is the copy of the petition to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)?

“In saner climes, it is a criminal offence for a public office holder to lie to the public. But in Nigeria, there are no consequences. As serious as this issue is, nobody in the Assembly or the one-member Congress could raise a finger to question this shameless action in Yenagoa. What we saw instead was a vote of confidence to return a defective structure. We shall see how long you guys will continue to hang on to power and where you derive the locus to continue to exclude others,” Jalla stated.

When the NFF’s spokesperson, Ademola Olajire was contacted for comment, he said, “Jalla has been saying all sorts of things. I don’t have anything to say on this, it is not different from what he has said in the past.”