AFCON 2025
World football’s governing body (FIFA) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have told the Nigeria Football Federation to suspend its ongoing electoral process, halting the elective congress scheduled for September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State. FIFA Chief Member Associations Officer Elkhan Mammadov communicated the directive in a letter dated September 7, 2026, addressed to NFF Deputy General Secretary Emmanuel Ikpeme.
The intervention follows a wave of resignations that left the NFF without its top leadership. President Ibrahim Musa Gusau stepped down on August 27, more than a month before his four-year tenure was due to end, and General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and several Executive Committee members followed him out. Ikpeme has since taken charge of the Secretariat as interim General Secretary, with Ademola Olajire stepping in as interim Deputy General Secretary.
Mammadov explained that FIFA and CAF are examining the legal, governance, administrative and electoral fallout from the crisis after receiving multiple communications about the resignations and hearing from other football stakeholders in Nigeria. He stressed that “FIFA and CAF have not reached any conclusions regarding the matters under review and no determination has been made with respect to any potential next steps.”
The two bodies ordered NFF officials to halt the election. “FIFA and CAF request that the ongoing electoral process be suspended and that no further steps or decisions be taken in connection to that process until further notice,” Mammadov wrote, adding that the move is meant to preserve the status quo while the assessment continues. FIFA and CAF also named Ikpeme the primary point of contact between the NFF and the two governing bodies and asked him to pass the directive on to all relevant stakeholders, including the federation’s electoral bodies.
The letter follows a meeting at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich on September 1, where FIFA, CAF, NFF administrators and representatives of Nigeria’s Federal Government discussed the unfolding crisis. FIFA and CAF now plan to send a joint assessment mission to Abuja as soon as possible, with meetings lined up involving the NFF administration, NFF members, the federation’s electoral bodies and the government, including the National Sports Commission.
The governance turmoil lands against a backdrop of disappointing results for Nigerian football. The Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, the Super Falcons missed out on the 2027 Women’s World Cup for the first time in their history, and several of the country’s youth national teams have also fallen short of major tournaments in recent cycles.
FIFA and CAF cautioned that no assumptions should be made about what action, if any, will follow. Mammadov noted that any recommendations would only go to “the competent decision-making bodies within FIFA and CAF” once the assessment concludes, leaving the outcome of the review and the fate of the suspended election unresolved for now.
