The Interim Management Committee of the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) has registered the league body as League Management Company (LMC). The chairman of the interim management committee of the league, Hon Nduka Irabo disclosed this yesterday at a media interaction with sports writers in the Abuja National Stadium. He said the decision to register the league as a corporate entity under the name of League Management Company is to give faith and confidence to the running of the league.
He said the then Nigeria Football League (NFL) registered by the former NFA general secretary, Fanny Amun and later changed to Nigeria Premier League (NPL) was declared illegal on January 20, 2012 by Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Abuja Federal High Court. He said the pronouncement of the court which has not been repealed or upturned by any superior court has given the league management credibility problem. “The Nigeria Football League (NFL) was declared illegal by judges of the federal court, led by Justice Donatus Okorowo. By that pronouncement of the court, the league has become an illegal body and nobody would like to transact business with an illegal body,” he declared.
He said it became imperative to re-register the league as a corporate entity under the new name of League Management Company to give credence to its operation and divorce it from all previous problems that has bedeviled the league. “The new League Management Company (LMC) has nothing to do with the Nigeria Football League.
The new league management league will be run as a corporate entity like other major companies like Julius Berger, Banks and other corporate organisations. In fact, now we don’t have anything like executive secretary of the league. What we have is the Chief Operative Officer (COO) of the league. LMC will have a board of directors comprising of the shareholders who are the clubs owners and Chief Operative Officer of the league.”
According to him the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) which will hold five percent of the LMC shares will also serve on the board of the league management as a silent member of the board. He said the NFF membership of the LMC board of directors is to ensure that the activities of the LMC are in conformity with the rules and regulations that govern football.