TheCable

Acting president of Nigeria Football Federation, Chief Mike Umeh, has called on the media to stop misinterpreting a letter received on Thursday from world football governing body, FIFA, purportedly ordering Alhaji Aminu Maigari back to office.

In the letter addressed to NFF general secretary Musa Amadu and signed by Markus Kattner, FIFA deputy secretary general, the soccer ruling body said the meeting during which Maigari (pictured) was allegedly sacked “didn’t comply with some statutory provisions (e.g. deadlines for the convocation of the meeting and for the sending of the agenda).”

Now Umeh wishes to clarify the content of the letter.

“I want to use this opportunity to urge the media to refrain from misinterpreting the letter from FIFA. As a body, the executive committee of Nigeria Football Federation has gone through the letter and noted the contents,’’ he said.

“We have noted, among others, the section in which FIFA talked about restoring the electoral committee and the electoral appeals committee, and the advice that we allow Alhaji Aminu Maigari to preside over the coming elective Congress of 26th August, 2014.

“We will sit down and deliberate on everything and will come out with our position. FIFA officials are themselves aware that Alhaji Maigari has resigned his position and it will be the discretion of the Executive Committee to now invite him to the elective Congress. An elective Congress is never really presided over by anyone.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Alhaji Maigari tendered his resignation letter on 12th August, 2014.”

Umeh insisted that the NFF executive committee has abided by the provisions of the NFF Statutes, as approved by FIFA, in all its actions in the past few weeks and there was no time the governing body questioned them.