October 8 – FIFA has provisionally lifted the suspension of Nigeria after Government officials agreed not to intervene in the running of the sport.
In a statement, FIFA said the situation had “taken a positive turn in recent days”, with the acting General Secretary of the Nigerian federation, Musa Amadu, having returned to his post on October 5 and the Nigeria League being left totally within the ambit of the federation.
But FIFA warned that Nigeria still faced being punished pending the outcome of a court hearing on October 25.
“Should the NFF still be embroiled in court actions or any other issue preventing it from working freely on that date, the suspension will be automatically confirmed until all problems have been definitively solved,” a statement said.
Amadu had been forced to step down on the instructions of the Government-run National Sports Commission but his re-instatement means Nigeria will now be able to play Guinea in this weekend’s African Nations Cup fixture.
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