NFF faction claims sabotage in Glass House fire

After the Wednesday morning fire incident that engulfed the third floor offices of the Nigeria Football Federation in Abuja, the vice president Mike Umeh has described the it as an act of sabotage.



Umeh who was acting president until Aminu Maigari was reinstated by world governing body FIFA was angered about the fire incident and only stopped short of claiming that Maigari used it to cover his tracks.

A meeting was held on Tuesday where a communiqué was issued by the NFF postponing next Tuesday’s general elections. Umeh claims that it is all part of a ploy by Maigari’s faction to hide their dirty linen.

“A lot of corruption is going on in the Nigeria Football Federation. The [fire incident] is an act of sabotage,” Umeh told media in Abuja.

“The meeting held [at the NFF Secretariat on Tuesday], we were not part of it and we did not agree with it. Nobody can perpetuate himself in power. It is not done.

“They are just buying time. We have to hold our elections on the 26th of this month. If they like let them burn the whole of Abuja we must hold our election.

“Of course it could be an act of sabotage if not what kind of fire (outbreak) is this? This happened during working hours. It did not happen during the night when we can say it was as a result of power failure (surge) during the night,” he said of the fire that was reported to have started from the office of the Accountant.

“I understand one of our big men was here watching the fire burning. The information I got was that the General Secretary was here watching the fire burning,” Umeh said.

A former board member of the NFF who is proprietor of Premier League club, Nembe City FC, Victor Rumson Baribote said there is every need for security agencies to do thorough investigation of the fire incident which he said is akin to what could happen only in a place where there is a restaurant.

According to him, “The truth is that both the security agencies and the staff on duty have a lot of things to tell Nigerians because this is not a restaurant where this type of fire can just rage without anybody doing something to contain it.

“Even as I don’t want to apportion any blame on anybody yet, but coming at a time when people were calling for a probe and people needed documents, then it needs to be investigated because it means that there is something fishy,” Baribote observed.