By Saidu Abubakar
Nigeria is NOT banned yet, but seems likely to be on the verge, should FIFA eventually find out that there was government interference in the NFF Executive Board’s mass resignation. It all depends on the report filed by the 4-man FIFA-CAF fact-finding team that visited Nigeria from 13th to 15th September, 2026.
On 27th August, 2026, the NFF President, Ibrahim Musa Gusau, General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi and all Executive Committee members mass-resigned. Reports alleged that it was because the Presidency/National Sports Commission (NSC) pushed them out. Meaning, government interference contrary to Articles 14 and 19 of the FIFA Statutes.
However, FIFA was quick to disown a letter circulating, purported to be from it threatening ban as “fake”. In a real letter dated 7th September, 2026, FIFA and CAF ordered NFF to ‘suspend the election’ that was earlier planned for 27th September, in Lafia, Nasarawa State and ‘take no further electoral steps’. FIFA/CAF said they have not reached any conclusion yet and have not decided to ban Nigeria. The world football governing body subsequently sent a joint FIFA-CAF mission to Abuja to meet with NFF, NSC, and stakeholders to assess if it was truly voluntary resignation by the NFF Executive.
The delegation of four – Ahmed Harraz, FIFA Member Association Governance (leader); Rolf Tanner, Head of FIFA Member Association Governance; El Hadj Wack Diop, FIFA West Africa office and Nnaemeka Olu, CAF Legal Manager landed Sunday night, 13th September, worked Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th September at the National Sports Commission’s (NSC) Headquarters, Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja. The team met with the NSC Chairman, Shehu Dikko, NFF interim admin, ex-NFF presidents (Sani Lulu and Aminu Maigari), State FA chairmen, league bodies, players union, coaches, referees, clubs and Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN). They left Tuesday night 15th back to Zurich.
Already, the NSC had since appointed Emmanuel Ikpeme as interim General Secretary to run the NFF secretariat with Dr. Ademola Olajire as deputy interim GS. While the electoral process is on hold, FIFA has assured that the suspension of the election is to preserve the status quo, not a ban on Super Eagles or clubs.
The axe shall strike if FIFA finds out that government forced the Executive’s resignations (violating FIFA Statutes Articles 14, 19). Nigeria could be suspended from all FIFA/CAF competitions – Super Eagles World Cup qualifiers, AFCON, etc. All ears are to the ground as decision is pending in Zurich. “They flew back to Zurich with all submissions. Dr. Olajire was reported as saying recently, adding that “no timeline. We just have to wait for FIFA’s decision.”
Checks by the Valuechain Sports have revealed that during the FIFA/CAF team’s visit they gathered that players, coaches and referees all want a 6-month Normalisation Committee to rewrite Statutes and give equal representation but the State FA chairmen (who control voting) rejected any Normalisation Committee, arguing that the Congress can fix it internally.
Either of the following is most likely to be FIFA’s decision after reviewing the visiting team’s report: (1) Allow NSC interim to conduct fresh election quickly; (2) Install a FIFA Normalisation Committee (most likely if they confirm government interference) or (3) Worst case: suspend Nigeria.
Further checks have revealed government’s reaction via the NSC Chairman, Shehu Dikko: “It was not a forced sack but the NFF board resigned voluntarily, creating a “lacuna” because NFF Statutes have no provision for entire board resigning at once. So government had to step in to avoid vacuum. FIFA has endorsed both the resignations and the reform plan, but insists on following FIFA rulebook. They agreed that the reform must happen, but it has to be through the proper process”.
He noted that comprehensive reform of NFF structure has been on the cards since Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari governments.
While echoing stakeholders complaints: accountability (he flagged N17bn given to NFF under Gusau in one cheque and N15bn in total under Pinnick’s eight years), governance as well as equal representation on the Board.
Dikko also reportedly revealed that FIFA may appoint a Normalization Committee for six months to one year. Appointed by FIFA not FG, to rewrite the Statutes and run football before fresh election holds. “So FG is cautiously playing it as we are cooperating with FIFA, not fighting them, to avoid a ban. It’s reform, not interference”.
On the part of the ex-NFF board themselves, Valuechain Sports further gathered, they resigned voluntarily to “pave way for comprehensive reform, to help FG avoid FIFA ban, but not forcefully sacked. And claiming performance failures (Super Eagles missing 2026 World Cup, Super Falcons missing 2027 WWC) has made their position untenable.”
Pushing back on Dikko’s N17bn and N15bn funding claim, our source said that a high ranking member of the ex-Board has concurred: “yes we collected more in one year than Amaju Pinnick in eight years, but that was intervention funds for projects, and were not mismanaged.”
Other stakeholders’ detailed positions given to FIFA include NPFL Club Owners (Kunle Soname – Remo Stars): Want league independence, financial autonomy, and club licensing to be enforced. Supports Normalization.
Referees Association complained of intimidation, unpaid allowances, no representation on NFF Board. Wants two slots for Congress.
The PFAN (Players Union) wants pension, contract enforcement and voting rights as currently, players have zero voting right in NFF elections despite being core asset.
The State FA Chairmen (Yakubu Sarma bloc) countered the Normalization Committee idea, insisting that it is an imported solution that will be consequently hijacked by Abuja politicians. Wants FIFA to trust NFF Statutes Article 20 which allows Congress to fill vacancies. They fear loss of their voting dominance.
DisCos Collect N1.12trn as N301.8bn Power Bills Remain Unpaid
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igeria’s electricity distribution sector collected N1.12 trillion from customers in the first half of 2026, but the figure masks a deeper commercial problem: more than N301.78 billion of billed electricity remained unpaid, leaving DisCos with a collection gap of 21.2 per cent.
An analysis of monthly commercial factsheets released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) shows that the 11 distribution companies billed customers N1.422 trillion between January and June, but converted only N1.121 trillion of that amount into actual revenue. The numbers underline the difficult economics confronting the distribution end of Nigeria’s electricity market, where energy supplied does not automatically translate into electricity billed, and electricity billed does not necessarily become cash collected.
Monthly collections fluctuated throughout the period. DisCos collected N204.75 billion in January, N196.68 billion in February, N196.13 billion in March, N203.61 billion in April, N208.15 billion in May and N191.86 billion in June. May therefore produced the strongest monthly collection, while June recorded the weakest, representing a 7.8 per cent decline from the preceding month.
Yet the more significant issue is not simply the decline in June collections. It is the gap between the electricity entering the distribution network, the volume eventually billed and the revenue recovered from customers.
In June, DisCos received 315.73 million kWh but billed only 240.71 million kWh, giving a billing efficiency of 76.24 per cent. Of the N240.71 billion billed during the month, only N191.86 billion was collected, producing a collection efficiency of 79.71 per cent and leaving N48.85 billion unrecovered.
The sector’s actual revenue recovery was even weaker when measured against the allowed average tariff. NERC reported an allowed average tariff of N130.15/kWh compared with an actual average collection of N96.63/kWh, translating into recovery efficiency of 74.24 per cent.
The H1 figures also reveal a striking divergence among the 11 DisCos. Ikeja led collections with N227.56 billion, followed by Abuja with N215.12 billion and Eko with N158.56 billion. At the other end of the table, Yola collected N19.83 billion, Kaduna N30.93 billion and Jos N39.38 billion.
More revealing is collection efficiency. Ikeja recorded 91.08 per cent, Benin 88.85 per cent and Eko 86.69 per cent. By contrast, Kaduna recorded 48.87 per cent, Jos 56.78 per cent and Kano 54.79 per cent.
The Kaduna figure is particularly significant because it demonstrates how the distribution crisis extends beyond consumers’ willingness or ability to pay. According to the information provided, NERC noted in August that Kaduna DisCo’s metering coverage remained below 36 per cent, exposing a large proportion of customers to estimated billing disputes. The company also recorded Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection losses of 71.88 per cent in 2025.
That relationship between metering, billing and collections is critical. A DisCo cannot collect revenue from electricity it has failed to accurately meter and bill in the first place. In January, for example, DisCos received electricity valued at N336.43 billion but billed only N268.20 billion. The resulting N68.23 billion gap represented electricity that did not make it through the billing system, whether because of technical losses, commercial losses, energy theft or other distribution inefficiencies.
This means that simply improving customer payment behaviour cannot resolve the sector’s liquidity crisis. Revenue recovery is ultimately constrained by the amount of electricity successfully delivered, measured and billed.
The consequences extend beyond the DisCos themselves. Weak collections reduce the funds available for remittances to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the Market Operator, creating liquidity pressures across the electricity value chain. Those pressures can subsequently affect generation and gas supply.
The January decline in available generation to about 2,000MW, reportedly linked to a $1.3 billion gas debt backlog, illustrates how financial weaknesses can travel backwards through the electricity chain from consumers to DisCos, from DisCos to market institutions, and ultimately to generators and gas suppliers.
Regulators have consequently moved towards stronger intervention. NERC mandated DisCos in July to dedicate 60 per cent of their net operating surplus to capital expenditure and debt servicing. In August, the commission dissolved the board of Kaduna DisCo after the company’s market obligations reportedly reached N456.5 billion as of May 31, 2026.
The intervention suggests that the regulator increasingly views distribution performance as a market-wide financial stability issue rather than merely a customer-service problem.
There has nevertheless been growth in collections. DisCos collected N597.56 billion in the first quarter of 2026 against N756.93 billion billed, while full-year 2025 collections reached N2.159 trillion. But rising collections alone have not eliminated the underlying liquidity constraints.
For consumers, the situation carries another dimension. As Electricity Consumers Association of Nigeria Chairman Chijioke James observed, customers without meters remain exposed to estimated charges and disputes over services they may not have received.
The H1 figures therefore point to a problem that cannot be solved by tariff increases or stronger enforcement alone. Nigeria’s distribution market needs better metering, lower technical and commercial losses, stronger revenue collection and sufficient investment in network infrastructure.
Until electricity supplied can be efficiently measured, billed and converted into cash, the N1.12 trillion collected in six months will remain less a sign of a financially healthy distribution system than evidence of a market struggling to capture the full economic value of the electricity it already delivers.