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World soccer ruling body, FIFA has approved a Normalisation Committee to steer the Nigeria Football Federation until fresh elections are conducted into the NFF.
The decision was taken on Thursday by the Bureau of the FIFA Council, according to a letter from FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström to Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, MON, who is Acting Secretary General of the NFF.
The letter stated that the committee “shall consist of a suitable number of members, who will be appointed jointly by FIFA and CAF as soon as possible.”
Its mandate will end once it has completed all its tasks, “but by no later than 31 May 2027.” No member of the committee will be eligible, under any circumstances, for the positions to be filled in the upcoming NFF elections.
Until the committee is constituted, the NFF Secretariat will continue with the day-to-day running of the federation and the administration of football in the country.
The move follows weeks of turmoil at the NFF. On August 27, 2026, NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau and General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi resigned, alongside members of the Executive Committee, leaving the federation without a functioning leadership.
A joint FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF) delegation then visited Abuja on September 14 and 15 for a two-day fact-finding and governance assessment mission. The team comprised FIFA officials Ahmed Harraz, Rolf Tanner and El Hadj Wack Diop, with CAF Legal Manager Nnaemeka Olu. They held meetings at the Abuja Continental Hotel and the NFF Secretariat at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium.
The delegation consulted NFF management and Acting General Secretary Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, members of the NFF Congress, State Football Association chairmen, former NFF presidents and general secretaries, leaders of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), and representatives of the Federal Government and the National Sports Commission.
Thursday’s decision by the FIFA Council Bureau is the outcome of that process.
