Ajibade Olusesan 
All is set for the 2024 Annual General Assembly of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) taking place in Asaba today and one of the issues at the front burner is the rumoured extension of the tenure of Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, the General Secretary of the body.
The NFF Annual General Assembly is the largest gathering of football administrators and stakeholders in the country each year.
It acts as a forum for the exchange of ideas and the development of policies and regulations that govern the administration and organization of the game nationally for the following year.
There are reports that it will mostly be used to officially approve an extension of Sanusi’s tenure after he served as secretary for more than 10 years.
According to Uche Onochie, a football legal luminary, the sports minister John Enoh, should go beyond the usual opening remark rhetoric at the AGA and set the agenda for a fresh brain to run the NFF secretariat.
“Sanusi has done enough, either good or bad, and he needs to leave after 17 years at the FA,” Onochie said. “If the minister fails to stop this tenure elongation, he can be sure that giving Sanusi another four-year contract will be challenged in court.”
In his contribution, former player Harrison Jalla called on the sports minister and Nigerian football stakeholders to stay vigilant while the AGA goes on in Asaba.
“The real cleansing of the NFF must begin now as the fight has been taken to the Presidency for action,” Jalla said.“Sanusi is part of the rot in the NFF and we say no to tenure elongation. He is not the only Nigerian who can be secretary.
To the players union, Sanusi must go.” Similarly, the Arewa Youth Sports Forum has announced its intention to stage a protest against the leadership of the NFF if the contract of Sanusi is extended beyond the December 2024 expiration date.
The chairman of the group, Comrade Yohanna Pam, in a statement emphasized the group’s determination to voice their concerns through peaceful protest.
The group has vowed to gather within the Three Arms Zone in Abuja to demonstrate against the proposed contract extension if the NFF Congress proceeds with its plan in Asaba, Delta State.
