The Bureau of the FIFA Council has approved the appointment of a Normalisation Committee to take over the running of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The committee will manage the federation’s affairs until its tasks are completed, but no later than 31 May 2027. FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will jointly appoint the members, none of whom will be eligible to contest the forthcoming NFF elections.
Until the committee formally takes office, the NFF Secretariat and acting General Secretary Emmanuel Ikpeme will continue handling day-to-day operations. The intervention follows a deep crisis triggered by mass resignations, financial scandals and historic on-field failures.
On 27 August 2026, NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and the entire Executive Committee resigned en masse, just 34 days before the end of their four-year tenure. The sudden departures disrupted the elective congress scheduled for 27 September in Nasarawa State and left Nigerian football without constitutionally elected leadership.
Public pressure intensified after the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the Super Falcons were eliminated from the African qualifiers for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, ending Nigeria’s unbroken streak of qualifying for every women’s World Cup since 1991.
Intense lobbying is already underway for the committee’s leadership. State Football Association chairmen are backing Barrister Christopher Green, while a powerful interest group led by a former NFF president is championing Barrister AbdulHakeem Uthman Mustapha (SAN).
The Normalisation Committee is expected to clean house and rewrite the federation’s statutes before a new democratic election can take place.
