Federal Government enforces court judgement that declares LMC illegal
It also chastised the lower courts that declared the NPLL dead and pronounced it alive
The Federal Government on Friday enforced a court judgement that declared the League Management Company (LMC) an illegal body according to a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Youths and Sports Development Ismaila Abubakar.
It will be recalled that in March 2022 the Supreme court declared the formation of LMC, the company that currently runs the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), as an aberration and deceit.
In a landmark judgement, the apex court said the LMC was fraudulently floated to avoid and evade pre-existing debts and other obligations owed by the Nigeria Premier League Limited (NPLL) that is mandated by law to run the professional football league in Nigeria.
It also chastised the lower courts that declared the NPLL dead and pronounced it alive.
“It is curious that after the judgement of the lower court presided over by Justice Okorowo on the 24th of June 2016, the Nigeria Premier League Limited received bank drafts to the tune of N254 million issued by Total Promotions Nigeria Limited which it took value in and subsequently transferred to Club owners.”
“Of note is that the judgement of Okorowo is not the dissolution order within the purview of the provisions of section 454 (1) of the company and allied matters act (CAMA). I must say straight away that there is a world of difference between the winding up of a company and the dissolution of a company. A company dies when a court orders the dissolution of the company. The revocation of a company and order of court winding up, some do not indicate its death. A company under winding up proceedings has not died. It is still alive but perhaps sick”, the learned justice said.
They further said that indeed injustice had been done in this matter and ordered the LMC to pay the sum of N3 million to the appellant.
It denounced the judgement of both the Federal High Court and the Appeal Court.
The appellant was Emmanuel Oboh and Emmanuel Oboh and Associates
Abubakar in his statement on Friday said ‘’In view of the several unpleasant incidents regarding the management of the Football League, specifically, the declaration of the NFLL as an illegal body by the Court; the status of the LMC, the NFLL's successor-in-title being outside the purview of the Statutes of the NFF; the Federal Government is constrained to withdraw its recognition of the LMC as the operator of the NPFL, with immediate effect.
Continued Abubakar, ‘’This decision has become necessary because of the obvious aberration (which is at variance with our football statutes or the laws of the land) whereby a private company is gifted the mandate to manage or run the league indefinitely, without the full involvement of and leadership by the clubs, and devoid of any process to monitor the progress and development of the game.
‘’Sequel to the above, and in order to rescue our domestic football from total collapse, the board of the LMC and the LMC as a body would no longer be recognised by the Federal Government as operator of NPFL.
“To avert further chaos in our domestic football, the NFF is advised to immediately withdraw the Licence given to the LMC and, in the meantime, set up an Interim Management Committee (IMC), to include the current Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the LMC to oversee the affairs of the League until a proper Professional League Board is constituted in accordance with the Statutes of the NFF.’’ Said Abubakar
