Izuchukwu OkosiThe Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has expressed its dismay at the ‘unprofessional’ running of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) and has thus enforced the withdrawal of the League Management Committee (LMC) as the operator of the NPFL with immediate effect.
The Ministry in a release made available to the media insists that it is an aberration for a private company to be gifted the responsibility of running Nigerian football league.
Below is the release as signed by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary by Ismaila Abubakar:
FEDERAL MINISTRY OF YOUTH AND SPORTS DEVELOPMENT, ABUJA, NIGERIA.
Press Statement:
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DECLARES LMC ILLEGAL
In view of the several unpleasant incidents regarding the management of the Football League, specifically, the declaration of the National Football League (NFL) as an illegal body by the Court; the status of the League Management Company (LMC), the NFL’s successor-in-title being outside the purview of the Statutes of the NFF; the Federal Government is constrained to withdraw its recognition of the LMC as the operator of the Nigeria Professional Football League, with immediate effect.
This decision has become necessary because of the obvious aberration (which is at variance with our football statutes or the laws of the land) whereby a private company is GIFTED the mandate to manage or run the league indefinitely, without the full involvement of and leadership by the clubs, and devoid of any process to monitor the progress and development of the game.
Sequel to the above, and in order to rescue our domestic football from total collapse, the BOARD OF THE LMC AND THE LMC AS A BODY WOULD NO LONGER BE RECOGNISED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS OPERATOR OF THE NIGERIAN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE.
To avert further chaos in our domestic football, the NFF is advised to immediately withdraw the Licence given to the LMC and, in the meantime, set up an Interim Management Committee (IMC), to include the current Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the LMC to oversee the affairs of the League until a proper Professional League Board is constituted in accordance with the Statutes of the NFF.
Signed :
Ismaila Abubakar
Nigeria’s Ministry Of Youth and Sport (Permanent Secretary)
September 9, 2022.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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