A former minister of youth and sports development, Solomon Dalung, says entrenched corruption and internal sabotage frustrated efforts to reform Nigerian football during his tenure.
Dalung made the claims in a detailed statement reflecting on his time in office between 2015 and 2019.
He said he was widely dismissed as a “novice” when he assumed office in November 2015, but had long understood the internal politics of Nigerian sports.
The former minister recalled serving on the federal government delegation to the 2002 African Cup of Nations in Mali, where he witnessed the row between Sunday Oliseh, then captain, and the Nigeria Football Association over cuts in players’ bonuses.
He said he and other officials were stranded after their estacode was not paid, adding that the experience shaped his understanding of maladministration in sports.
Dalung said he adopted what he described as the philosophy of his mentor, which encouraged him to appear unaware so that entrenched interests would “reveal themselves”.
He recounted an encounter with an elderly cleaner who told him that “in sports we work harder for failure than for success”.
Dalung said the cleaner explained that football tournament budgets were prepared up to the final stage, creating an incentive for officials to benefit financially when teams exited competitions early.
He said his attempts to enforce accountability were reframed by vested interests as interference, with complaints reportedly sent to FIFA to frustrate reforms.
Dalung said sections of the sports media amplified these claims rather than investigate corruption allegations.
The former minister said he convened a technical committee chaired by Abdulmumuni Aminu and comprising former NFA chairmen, ex-secretaries, coaches, ex-internationals and private sector representatives.
He said the committee identified corruption, unpaid allowances, nepotism, impunity and lack of transparency as core problems weakening football development.
Dalung said the committee recommended that Nigeria should voluntarily withdraw from global football for six months and request a FIFA Normalisation Committee to overhaul governance structures.
He said the ministry accepted the recommendation and notified the president and FIFA.
Dalung said the process collapsed after President Muhammadu Buhari travelled abroad for medical treatment, leading to what he called an “unauthorised” letter from the presidency disowning the ministry’s proposal.
He described the action as a major victory for corruption and impunity within the football establishment.
Dalung said Nigeria’s repeated failure to qualify for the World Cup since 2018 is a direct result of unresolved systemic rot.
He said football reforms will remain elusive until the country confronts “indecision, corruption and impunity” with sincerity and courage.
