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Football’s world governing body, FIFA has denied having prior
knowledge of any court order barring the last elections into the board of the
Nigeria Football Federation from taking place.

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos had, in response to a
petition filed by the National Association of Nigeria Footballers (NANF),
issued an order preventing the August 26 elections from taking place.

This was however flouted by the NFF’s electoral committee who,
despite being aware of the court’s directive, went ahead with the polls that
saw Aminu Maigari emerge as the NFF’s president.

The elections have since then been overruled by the Federal High
Court but that didn’t stop the Association of Footballers from threatening to
sue FIFA following claims that FIFA representative at the polls, Primo Carvaro,
had given the electoral committee the go-ahead to proceed with the now annulled
elections.

The association made this know to FIFA in a letter signed by its
president, Harrison Jalla. The later was dated September 13, 2010, and
addressed to the FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

NANF, in its letter, also accused FIFA of attempting to shield
the impeached board members of the NFF, who are now facing corruption related
charges, and also requested an unreserved apology from it for threatening to
ban Nigeria following the nullification of the August 26 elections.

No wrong done

But FIFA’s secretary general Jerome Valcke, in a letter to the
Association dated September 27, 2010 and copied to the Confederation of African
Football (CAF), absolved their representative at the polls of any wrongdoing.

“Before the elections of the new NFF board scheduled on 26
August 2010 and since some Nigerian medias were reporting on alleged court
actions, FIFA asked the NFF management if it was the case. The NFF confirmed
the rumours but denied that it had been served with any court order.

“Our representative, Mr Primo Corvaro, attended the elections on
26 August 2010 and contrary to what you state in your letter, he has never
received any court order from Mr Singabele or anybody else during his stay. We
therefore deny categorically your allegations,” FIFA said in its reply.

NANF had alleged in its letter that Corvaro was informed prior
to the elections about the court order by a member of the NFF board Peter
Singabele.

Ban threat

Valcke also gave reasons for FIFA’s threat to ban Nigeria after
the elections were annulled.

“In the days following the election, rumours about court actions
surfaced again in the medias and as a consequence, we sent a letter to the NFF
in which we stated that such actions would be considered as an interference
from a third party according to the FIFA statutes,” he said.

“We also referred to article 64 paragraph 2 and paragraph 3 which state that
recourse to ordinary courts was prohibited and that it was the duty of all FIFA
member associations to ensure that this stipulation was implemented by their
members.”