Former Nigeria international and ex-Green Eagles captain Segun Odegbami says he will approach the civil courts to seek clarification on the laws and regulations governing Nigerian football and challenge the planned Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) elections.
Mr Odegbami said he believes the country’s football administration requires urgent structural reforms and that the 27 September election in Lafia, Nasarawa State, should be temporarily halted to allow outstanding governance questions to be addressed.
His proposed legal action comes as the NFF proceeds with preparations for its elective congress. The federation’s Extraordinary General Assembly in March approved amendments to its Statutes, Electoral Code and Standing Orders, as well as the composition of its Electoral and Electoral Appeals Committees.
The NFF subsequently released a timetable leading to the election, with campaigns scheduled for 14 to 24 September and the election fixed for 27 September.
Explaining his decision to go to court, Mr Odegbami said he had considered intervention by the National Assembly and the National Sports Commission (NSC), but believes the courts can provide an independent interpretation of the issues.
“Where we are now is the result of some faulty decisions made at some point. Nothing illegal has happened. It is our choice. FIFA doesn’t tell any country how you should now set up your own football. It is your business. How you run your internal organization, it is your business. Who you make your president, it is your business. What are the rules? What are the guidelines? What are these? It is your business, so definitely the National Sports Commission has a responsibility to provide very strong guidance to its subject that’s the Nigeria Football Federation and direct them on what is in the best interest of Nigeria for them to put it together as a document that will guide our Nigerian football. That’s my own view and that’s why because I don’t know where to turn to.
“It’s either we go to the national assembly for them to enact the law or we go to the National Sports Commission for them to intervene because they are actual stakeholders in this business, the biggest uh stakeholders in Nigerian football. I can also go to the courts as an individual as a stakeholder and seek interpretation and whatever it is that will help us steady this sinking ship of Nigerian football. We need to do something. We can’t just sit down and just let what is wrong and what is not working for us just go on, somebody needs to do something. That’s why i am going to court,” Odegbami stated.
In his newspaper column, Mr Odegbami said he wants the courts to examine the role of FIFA in Nigeria’s domestic football affairs, the status and representation of state football associations, the composition of the NFF Congress, government’s role as a major funder of football and the structure and cost of NFF elections.
He argued that Nigeria’s football administration has been weakened by what he described as faulty decisions dating back to the 1990s, which he believes have become entrenched in the system.
The former national team captain has also questioned whether the existing structure adequately reflects Nigeria’s interests and the country’s football realities.
His concerns come against the background of previous disputes over NFF governance. In 2022, the then President Muhammadu Buhari directed the NFF to amend its statutes to address concerns over representation while remaining consistent with FIFA principles. The NFF’s 2022 elections were also affected by court proceedings over complaints concerning representation and voting rights.
Mr Odegbami’s latest intervention again raises the longstanding tension between government oversight and the autonomy expected of national football associations under FIFA rules.
He insists, however, that his argument is not that the current arrangement is necessarily illegal.
He said his objective is to obtain judicial interpretation, transparency and justice and ultimately help “steady” what he described as Nigeria’s “sinking ship” of football.
The proposed court action comes amid wider debate over Nigerian football following the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Super Falcons elimination from the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and other failures by the various age-grade teams.
Mr Odegbami said his intervention is motivated by his long association with Nigerian football and his belief that stakeholders cannot remain silent when they consider the system to be failing.
“The next few weeks will be very interesting,” he wrote, urging Nigerians and football stakeholders to understand why he believes the election should be temporarily halted.
