…Sports Stakeholders Demand Transparency, Accountability in Public Funds Management.
The National Sports Commission (NSC) has been urged to publicly disclose the total amount of money it has received from the Federal Government since assuming office, how the funds have been expended, and the exact amount released to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) within the same period.
The call comes amid growing demands for transparency and accountability in the administration of Nigerian sports, particularly concerning the financial relationship between the NSC and the country’s football governing body.
While acknowledging the NSC’s disclosure of the amount reportedly released to the NFF before the current Commission assumed office, stakeholders have argued that such disclosure would be more meaningful if accompanied by a comprehensive account of the Commission’s own finances since taking charge.
According to this position, Nigerians deserve to know not only what the NSC’s predecessors released to the NFF but also what the present administration has received from the Federal Government, what it has spent, the purposes for which the expenditure was made, and how much has actually been transferred to the NFF.
The NSC is therefore being called upon to provide clear answers to the following questions:
What is the total amount of money the NSC has received from the Federal Government since the present administration assumed office?
How much has been released to the NFF during the same period?
How much has been spent on the Commission’s administrative operations, programmes, sporting activities and other obligations?
What amounts were allocated to specific sports federations and other agencies under its supervision, and how were the funds disbursed?
What mechanisms are in place to ensure transparency, accountability and value for money in the management of public funds?
These are legitimate public-interest questions that deserve documented answers. The NSC should publish a breakdown of its receipts and expenditure, supported by relevant budgetary and financial records, subject to applicable financial reporting and audit requirements.
The Commission’s disclosure of previous releases to the NFF should be welcomed as a step towards transparency. However, accountability must be consistent and must apply to the present administration as much as it applies to those who served before it.
Questions have also been raised about the apparent intensity with which NSC Chairman Shehu Dikko has been associated with criticisms of the NFF Board, particularly against the background of his previous electoral contest with Ibrahim Musa Gusau for the NFF presidency.
While electoral competition is a legitimate part of football administration, it is important that past political disagreements do not influence the relationship between government sports authorities and the independently constituted football federation. He, along the top members of the NSC have been at the forefront of football activities,taking pictures and headlines news as though, he’d achieved his political ambition he lost few years ago against Ibrahim Musa Gusau.
Stakeholders are asking why there appears to be so much emphasis on scrutinising the NFF Board’s activities while comparable public scrutiny is not being directed towards the NSC’s own financial receipts, expenditure and disbursements.
This question is not an allegation that the NSC has mismanaged public funds. Rather, it is a call for the Commission to demonstrate that the standards of transparency it expects from the NFF are standards it is equally prepared to uphold.
If the NSC believes that the NFF should account for the funds it receives, the same principle should apply to public money received by the Commission. Nigerians should not have to contend with selective accountability in the management of their resources.
The NSC operates within Nigeria’s public financial administration framework and should be prepared to explain how public allocations entrusted to it are utilised. The relevant budgetary, financial reporting and audit processes provide an appropriate basis for answering questions about government funding and disbursements.
The Commission should therefore consider publishing a two-year financial summary detailing its total federal receipts, approved allocations, actual expenditure, releases to the NFF and other sports federations, as well as any outstanding financial commitments.
Such a disclosure would help establish the facts, reduce speculation and enable stakeholders to assess the financial relationship between the government and the NFF on the basis of verifiable information rather than competing narratives. After all, stakeholders have argued that the present NSC leadership has not done anything different from the past administration when Ministry of Sports was in operations.
The NFF, as the national football governing body, also has a responsibility to account for funds received and to comply with applicable financial reporting obligations. However, the need for accountability at the federation does not remove the responsibility of the NSC to account for the public resources under its own control as the office remains the common patrimony of the entire tax payers.
I think Nigerian sports deserve facts and not political rivalry. At a time when Nigerian sports require stronger institutions, improved funding, effective administration and better results, public officials and sports administrators must place institutional development above personal disagreements or electoral rivalries.
The relationship between the NSC and the NFF should be guided by cooperation, clearly defined responsibilities and mutual respect for the applicable rules governing sports administration.
Rather than allowing disagreements to dominate public discourse, both institutions should provide the information necessary to establish the facts surrounding their financial dealings and administrative responsibilities.
The NSC chairman should therefore be encouraged to address the concerns surrounding the Commission’s financial disclosures directly. Nigerians deserve to know what the Commission received, what it spent, what it released to the NFF and what remains available or committed.
The central question remains: If the NSC can disclose what was released to the NFF before the current administration took office, why should Nigerians not also be told how much the Commission itself has received from the Federal Government since assuming office and how those funds have been utilised?
Transparency cannot be a standard reserved for one’s perceived opponents. It must be a governing principle applied consistently to every institution entrusted with public resources. Therefore, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should mandate the Chairman, National Sports Commission and his DG , Honourable Bukola Olopade to exhibit leadership by example by coming out with documentary evidence on their financial transactions in the last two years in office.
I so humbly submit.
Sunday Agunbiade(Mr VAR)
