The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has given a detailed breakdown of how they spent the $801,929 grant they collected from FIFA, after the Sports Minister Solomon Dalung and FIFA questioned its use.
In a statement released on Friday, the NFF also stated that they were ready for the planned audit of their books.
NFF President Amaju Pinnick, also recalled that at inception of his board, they engaged PriceWaterhouseCoopers as external auditors and Financial Derivatives as financial consultants.
“These are globally-renowned firms with reputation to protect, and we did not hesitate to bring them on board with us. We can also say with every sense of sincerity that they have each been doing a great job,” Pinnick said.
“In as much as this is supposed to be a confidential matter, as it is not a forensic examination as being touted, we feel a sense of responsibility to provide further details on the programmes on which the money was spent. Some persons are already claiming NFF embezzled money; it is unfortunate.
“I don’t think we will find people who will come forward and tell us that Nigeria did not play friendly matches against DR Congo and Cameroon in Belgium in October 2015, or that the Super Eagles did not play Burkina Faso in CHAN qualifying matches in the same month, or that the Eagles did not play Swaziland home and away in a preliminary round (November 2015) before qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup group phase.
“We are not averse to the planned audit of our accounts; what we do not welcome is the litany of distractions and dark innuendoes that the whole matter is generating, and its implications for our preparations for the final phase of qualifying for 2018 FIFA World Cup finals”, he stated.
Pinnick added that the NFF were blameless for the use of form T-10 (which was acceptable in government transactions) and the issue of cash transactions.
“These issues are coming up because of new reforms and new management procedures being adopted by FIFA. The form T-10 was the practice all the way before this Board came into office. And getting some of our players to open bank accounts for online payments has not been easy.
“Of course, we have taken all the lessons and advice from this report to heart, and we have now modified our payment structure”, he added.
Programmes on which the money was spent:
. International Friendly Matches
(Nigeria Vs Cameroon & Congo in Belgium)
. CHAN Qualifier (Burkina Faso Vs Nigeria)
. Processing of Visa for U17 in Ghana
. Computer Appreciation Course
. Outstanding Hotel Bills to Serob Legacy Hotel
. Camping And Scouting of U17 Players
. Additional for Tanzania Vs Nigeria AFCON Qualifier
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