Nigeria’s House of Representatives has moved to investigate the Nigerian Football Federation over alleged misuse of development grants amounting to 25 million dollars received from FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The decision followed a motion of urgent public importance jointly sponsored by Lagos lawmaker Adedayo Adesola and his Rivers State counterpart Felix Nwaeke during Tuesday’s plenary.
In a motion titled “Motion to Stop Further Misuse of FIFA and CAF Grants by the Nigerian Football Federation,” the sponsors alleged that repeated cases of financial mismanagement within the NFF have contributed to the country’s poor performance across various national teams.
Adesola told lawmakers that the NFF had received over 25 million dollars in grants between 2015 and 2025. He recalled that in 2016, FIFA raised an audit query after discovering that 802,000 dollars out of a 1.1 million dollar development fund was unaccounted for, leading then Sports Minister Solomon Dalung to order an independent audit.
The Lagos lawmaker also noted that between 2018 and 2019, the federation’s leadership, including former president Amaju Pinnick, came under public scrutiny and investigation by anti-graft agencies such as the EFCC and ICPC over the handling of sponsorship and development funds.
He cited a recent controversy involving 1.2 million dollars reportedly used for a mini-stadium project in Birnin Kebbi, describing the facility as substandard and unworthy of the amount claimed to have been spent.
Adesola said there is a need for stronger oversight, especially with the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifiers, to prevent further misuse of public and international funds.
Following deliberations, the motion was unanimously supported by lawmakers and adopted during the session presided over by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
The House subsequently resolved to establish a special investigative committee to review the NFF’s financial activities from 2015 to date. The committee is expected to summon the federation’s leadership to provide detailed documentation of all grants received and how they were spent.
