Bright Uche, Abuja
The office of the new Minister of Sports, John Owan Enoh, in the last two weeks must have been inundated with loads of proposals, newspaper cuttings and social media gists setting agenda for a rapid sports development in Nigeria.
The minister must have gone through two important ones from a journalist, Silvanus Ifekun and old warhorse, Mathematical Segun Odegbami highlighting the roadmap for the new minister,
Needless to remind the Cross River-born politician that sports ministry, especially football, is one of the most beleaguered, most terrible terrains to traverse as minister in Nigeria. The seat is laced with landmines, impunity and tons of court judgements that will confound and make his work difficult. Yet, the minister has a choice to etch his name in the list of sports pantheons or join the growing numbers of ministers without impact in sports.
Beyond rhetoric, it is advisable that the minister takes a serious look into a number of court judgements against the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, the league management in whatever name it is called –NPFL, NPL, LMC, IMC or NFLL. Unless these judgements are dispensed with, any effort to manage football in the land will be tantamount to pouring water on the back of the duck – futility.
Of special interest here, if the minister must note, is the famous Justice Donatus Okorowo judgement (Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/179/2010), which declared the Statutes of the world football governing body, FIFA undomiciled in Nigeria, depriving its statutes illegal and therefore cannot have the force of law within Nigeria.
Justice Okorowo judgment was based on the case brought before him by Dr Sam Sam Jaja who was the former President of the Nigeria Referees Association, NRA, challenging his disqualification from contesting the office of the Nigeria Premier League chairmanship election which was later won by Davidson Owumi. Owumi was subsequently toppled by NFF under Maigari for ascendancy of Victor Baribote as Chairman of Nigeria Premier League
Justice Okorowo, in the un-appealed judgement, granted all the 10 reliefs sought by Dr Jaja. The judge, without mincing words, declared that the NFF was not known to Nigerian laws. He said that the only legal instrument by which football can be legally administered in Nigeria is through the NFA ACT CAP 2004.
For clarity , Hon Minister, let me quote exact lines from this aspect of Justice Okorowo judgement:
“The primary function (OF NFA AS STIPULATED IN THE NFA ACT) is to organize league and other matches for professional or amateur clubs in co-operation with bodies recognized by it. The NFA also has power to set up subsidiary body to assist in performance of its functions. BY THIS PROVISION ,NFA IS THE ONLY BODY RECOGNISED BY NIGERIA LAW TO MANAGE FOOTBALL IN NIGERIA
Justice Okorowo further stated in his unappealed judgement that :
“The Law ( ie the NFA ACT) did not make reference to it ( NFA) as Nigeria Football Federation. The name under which it is charged to manage football under the law is Nigeria Football Association. It has no power to address itself as Nigeria Football Federation. And the document titled Nigeria Football Federation Statute which purports to confer the name Nigeria Football Federation to the Nigeria Football Association is not a codified law under the Laws of Federation of Nigeria.”
Justice Okorowo, most importantly, went further to state that:
“It is therefore illegal for the Nigeria Football Association to answer another name than the name by which it is created as a legal entity.”
As said earlier and worth repeating due to its impact on the running of football in Nigeria which is very clearly illegal, Justice Okorowo also averred that FIFA or CAF laws are not domiciled in Nigeria and its statutes have no force of law in Nigeria.
Since Justice Okorowo judgement, several Supreme Court judgements have supported the verdict.
Secondly , the minister will be making a name for himself if he asked the ministry’s lawyers to look into the landmark judgement of Supreme Court five different football cases one of which held that the League Management Company set up by the NFF under the Aminu Maigari regime is a fraudulent company set up to be deceitful
In one of the lead judgements of the Supreme Court, in a case instituted by Emmanuel Oboh ( SAN) and Emmanuel Oboh & Associates, Justice Ejembi Eko of the Supreme Court delivering the lead judgement, said the LMC was fraudulently floated to avoid and evade pre-existing debts and other obligations owed by the Nigeria Football League Ltd that is mandated by NFA to run profession football league in Nigeria. Not LMC , NOT ELEGBELEYE’s NPFL OR NFF.
THERE LIES YOUR CONUNDRUM HON MINISTER.
The apex court also chastised the lower courts that declared the Nigeria Premier League Limited, NFLL, dead.
JUSTICE EKO of Supreme Court further said :
”Of note is that the judgement of Okorowo is not the dissolution order within the purview of the provisions of section 454 (1) of the company and allied matters act (CAMA).
“I must say straight away that there is a world of difference between the winding up of a company and the dissolution of a company. A company dies when a court orders the dissolution of the company. The revocation of a company and order of court winding up, same do not indicate its death. A company under winding up proceedings has not died. It is still alive but perhaps sick,” the justices said.
The Supreme Court averred further NIGERIA FOOTBALL LEAGUE IS ALIVE
While we won’t bore the minister with legal jargons, we appeal to his wisdom to also spend ample time to read yet another Supreme Court judgement, delivered by former Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Walter Onnoghen. The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision delivered by the CJN on the 27th April, 2018 ordered the resort and uphold of a Federal High Court, Jos judgment which annulled the 30th September, 2014 election of Mr. Amaju Pinnick on the grounds that it was held against a subsisting court injunction issued on 19th September, 2014, by a competent court.
The Supreme Court in that decision set aside the ruling of an Appeal Court which had set aside the Federal High Court ruling, describing it as a miscarriage of Justice . It ordered that Pinnick was never in office The elected President was Chris Giwa. Ab initio, all Pinnick’s actions in office are illegal and Hon Minister, even Ibrahim Gusau who was elected by elective congress chaired by illegal Pinnick is not legally in office. Two problems here – NFF IS UNKNOWN TO NIGERIA LAW AND PINNICK /GUSAU UNDER ANY LEGAL CONSIDERATION WERE / ARE NOT IN OFFICE
Good luck to the minister as he navigates the muddy and messy waters of Nigerian football which has been code-named as Nigeria’s House of Illegalities and confusion.
Source: Facebook
