NFF committee declares Baribote a ‘rebel’

A committee set up by the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF has said that Victor Baribote, a former vice president of the federation  was guilty of disobedience.

Baribote, a former Chairman of the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) and ex-NFF Second Vice-Chairman, had accused the association’s leadership of misconduct.

*Baribote

He had sent a petition on this to world’s football governing body, FIFA, with the Zurich-based body asking the NFF to investigate the allegation instead.

The NFF then set up a committee headed by Emeka Inyama, one of its board members and Chairman of its Media and Publicity Committee. Inyama, while presenting the committee’s report to the NFF leadership, said Baribote had contravened various articles in the football statutes which preached fair play.

“In Baribote’s letter to FIFA, he claimed that he was still the chairman of the NPL.“We saw from evidence available that, sometime in December 2012, he was impeached by the Congress of the Premier League Club Owners in Abuja and those evidences were tendered.

“How come six months after, he was writing as if he was still the Chairman of the NPL, whereas the same Baribote submitted himself to the authority of the League Management Company (LMC).

“He took the LMC to court, but he participated in their meetings, one of which was a representation to Nigerian football.

“Baribote was seated there and we found it embarrassing and confusing.

“He went to court against LMC and NFF, and against the course which he was promoting, collected N10. 5 million from the LMC, being a share of revenue from league sponsorship.

“Yet he was in court with the same people, we did not understand that,” Inyama claimed.

He also said one Mrs Baribote was the true representative of Nembe City FC of Bayelsa, contrary to the make-belief of Victor Baribote that he was in charge.

“The authorities of Nembe City FC, as we know by the books, is one Mrs Baribote, and legally Mrs Baribote representing Nembe City is not the same thing as Rumson Victor Baribote. So, we found this contradicting. “We found out that the letter he sent to FIFA was in bad faith and taste and we referred to articles 2, 4, 7, 10, 12 and 34. These are relevant articles of the NFF that authorised its chairman to set up this committee to look into this matter,” Inyama said. The committee chairman said the recommendations of the committee were however being kept secret until the NFF board had seen  and approved it.