Former Super Eagles Captain, John Obi Mikel, has urged the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to step down following their failure to guide the senior national team to the 2026 World Cup to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Mikel has also called on the Federal Government to probe the country’s failure to win a World Cup qualifying group comprising Rwanda, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Benin Republic and South Africa with a view to ensuring that “such disasters do not occur again.”

The former Super Eagles captain won 89 caps for Nigeria and represented the country at both the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.

However, the Super Eagles will not be at this summer’s finals in North America, having also missed out on the Mundial four years ago.

Nigeria were beaten on penalties by DR Congo in the second round of African qualifying in November, ending their World Cup hopes.

Speaking in an explosive interview published by talksport.com, he said the process of correcting the ills of the game should begin with those running the NFF stepping down from their roles.

He explained: “It’s a hammer blow and I’ve said it so many times that when you have a country as big as we do, over 300 million people, the biggest country in Africa and we’re not going to the World Cup (for a) second time in a row, the FA, the people that are running the FA should all resign. They have to resign because it’s the second time that it’s happened.

“We have one of the best teams in Africa and we’re not going to be at the World Cup. It’s a disaster. It’s a disaster.

“So the people running the FA, the president (Ibrahim Musa Gusau) of the FA, the organisation people, they have to resign because African football is growing so much and we are being left behind. Nigeria’s been left behind.

“We should be leading the way. Look at what Morocco is doing with their team, with their country. They’re growing; they’re developing and we keep going backwards time after time.”

Nigeria still has a slim hope of making the 2026 World Cup following the NFF’s petition against DR Congo, which they accused of fielding ineligible players in the African playoff final last year.

FIFA is expected to reveal its verdict on the matter before the inter-continental playoff in Mexico later this month.