Jaja Defends Settlement With NFF

Former referees chief, Dr  Sam Sam Jaja, has defended his decision to come to a resolution with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Jaja had successfully taken the NFF to court to challenge his disqualification from contesting the last NPL elections. His suit led to a court judgement that declared both the NFF and NPL illegal.

But at a meeting brokered by Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi, Jaja agreed to refrain from enforcing the judgement.

In return, he was rewarded with a position as an honorary member of the NFF, along with having his disqualification from the NPL elections reversed.

That has led to a wave of criticisms against the former NFA board member, but Jaja says he was well within his rights to seek a lasting solution.

“I said I would pursue this case to the end, and I did. I got a judgement in court which validated my position and integrity,” he said.

“But the Secretary to the Federal Government called us and made an appeal for us to seek peace. I cannot disobey such a high ranking officer of the Federal Republic, and those who are talking now, would have been the first to accuse me of doing that if I had done so.”

Jaja insisted that his reputation and integrity remained intact.

“Being an honorary member of the NFF makes no difference to me. I was a former member of the board under Ibrahim Galadima, and when the Sani Lulu board came in, I could have remained as President of the Referees Association, but I chose to resign. If I had wanted to, I could have stayed. The important thing is for us to move on.”