The ad hoc committee investigating the face-off between the Super Falcons and officials of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has once again summoned Ibrahim Gusau, the president of the federation.
Blessing Onu, the chairman of the ad hoc committee investigating the face-off, reinvited Gusau after he failed to appear on Tuesday.
Re-inviting the NFF President, Onu said the sitting of the committee was not to witchhunt anyone but to discharge its functions in line with the mandate of the House.
Onuh, who issued the notice, frowned at the NFF President’s deliberate refusal to honour the invitation of the ad hoc committee.
According to her, the NFF President was supposed to appear before the ad hoc committee on August 17. She insisted that the reasons the NFF President gave for his non-appearance were not as important as the work of the committee.
“Nigerians are interested. Nigerians are watching. The girls did extremely well, and they made Nigerians proud, so we shouldn’t take this investigative hearing lightly.
“We gave an opportunity for the President of NFF to appear before this ad hoc committee. The allowances and dues that were supposed to be paid to the female footballers, the Super Falcons, were turned down. What is more important for him: to attend the FIFA Women’s Convention or to appear before this committee?
“He has the effrontery to send his SA [to tell us] that he won’t be able to make it. It simply means he is taking us for granted; he is taking us for a ride, and we will not tolerate it,” she said.
Speaking earlier, the NFF Secretary-General, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, said the NFF President could not attend the investigative hearing because of his ill health.
The ad hoc committee, however, refused to grant an audience to the Secretary-General and his team who came to represent the NFF President.
Meanwhile, some concerned members of the committee who did not want their names mentioned accused the NFF President of deliberately frustrating the exercise.