Former Sokoto State Football Association chairman and veteran broadcaster Dr Danladi Bako has demanded the immediate departure of Nigeria Football Federation president Ibrahim Gusau and the federation’s full executive board. He blamed the leadership for institutional ineffectiveness, weak accountability and Nigeria’s repeated failure to reach major international tournaments.
Bako said at the weekend that the board should not remain in office after Nigeria missed the 2022 and 2026 FIFA World Cups in succession. He added that earlier military governments would have removed officials after failures of such magnitude.
Quick facts
- Nigeria missed the 2022 and 2026 FIFA World Cups.
- Africa will have 10 places at the expanded 48-team 2026 World Cup.
- The Super Falcons exited the WAFCON in Morocco in the quarter-finals against South Africa.
- Bako questioned the spending of ₦12 billion allocated for the last AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire.
- He wants NPFL clubs to receive greater influence in NFF elections.
The Kogunan Sokoto also pointed to a decline across Nigeria’s national teams. The Super Eagles failed to take one of Africa’s 10 available places at the 2026 World Cup, despite the tournament being enlarged to 48 teams.
He further said the Super Falcons’ quarter-final defeat by South Africa at the WAFCON in Morocco left them without qualification for the next FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Bako, who previously served as special adviser to former Sports Minister Jim Nwobodo, questioned how the ₦12 billion approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the most recent Africa Cup of Nations campaign in Côte d’Ivoire was spent. He requested comprehensive audits of the NFF and the Sports Commission to establish how the money was used.
Turning to governance, Bako criticised the NFF’s existing statutes and the make-up of its Electoral Congress. He said the voting structure should give priority to Nigeria Premier Football League clubs instead of state association chairmen appointed through political processes.
He also lamented the absence of former Nigeria stars such as Segun Odegbami, Daniel Amokachi and Nwankwo Kanu from influential football administration positions.
Bako rejected warnings that government intervention or a restructuring of the football system would automatically trigger international sanctions. He described claims that FIFA would impose a ban as outdated and untrue.
He said countries routinely adapt their football statutes to their own domestic governance frameworks without FIFA action. As a solution, he called on President Tinubu to intervene and instruct the NFF leadership to resign, citing Italy as an example of a country where federation boards stepped down after failing to qualify for the World Cup.
