A new NPFL Board to come alive in four weeks

The Nigeria Football Federation board has ordered a composition of the Nigeria Premier Football league board within the next one month.

It also directed that the boards of the lower leagues should also be constituted.

That was the high point in the communique issued on Tuesday after its Monday meeting in Abuja. 

The current Nigeria Premier league is being organised by the Interim Management Committee following the disbandment of the League Management Company which ran the league from the 2012/13 season.

The IMC is currently running what is easily the smoothest league in the country as the rule of law has been strictly upheld.

The upcoming board will be the third time a body will be constituted since a governing body, called the Nigeria Football League was established in the 2005 season and inaugured on 18 January 2005.

 The body had a 15-man interim management committee headed by Chief Obaseki. It was inaugurated  by the then NFA Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima,  at the Le Meridian Hotel, Abuja.

 The body ran the premier league till the

 2012/2013 Season when the NPL board was pronounced illegal by a court.

The NFF then issued the license to organize and regulate the top tier league to the League Management Company (LMC) for the purpose of organizing and promoting the league to meet global technical and commercial standards. The franchise was granted following the near collapse of the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) organized by the Nigeria Football League (NFL) which arose from intractable legal, contractual, administrative and financial impediments.

It all began with the composition of an Interim Management Committee, IMC, which in turn supervised the formation and incorporation of the LMC which was owned by the NFF and the participating clubs.

According to the LMC, its promoters were allotted 25% shares in compliance with the provisions of the Nigeria Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990.

   Thus the NFF boss, as the representative of the association held five per cent of the allotted shares, whilst the Hon. Nduka Irabor as Chairman of the interim League Management Committee had 20% in trust.

The shares held by Irabor on behalf of the LMC were to be relinquished as soon as the Board of the company is appropriately constituted.

A sworn affidavit to this effect was deposited at the rightful public repository.

   At first, club officials, nicknamed “Club Owners” kicked against the IMC-turned LMC.

With controversies settled, the league kicked off belatedly nearly four months behind schedule on March 9, 2013.