The President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Musa Gusau, has dismissed reports suggesting he was involved in a heated confrontation with Fouzi Lekjaa, the Moroccan Football Federation President and CAF First Vice President, during a recent CAF Executive Committee meeting in Morocco.
The unverified reports claimed that the altercation occurred in the course of discussions at the 35th Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) hosted in Morocco, implying tension between Nigerian and Moroccan football officials.
Addressing the claims on Tuesday, Gusau described the story as “total falsehood”, emphasising that Nigeria and Morocco enjoy cordial relations both in football administration and at governmental levels.
His words: “I genuinely don’t know the source of this report,” Gusau said. “Nigeria and Morocco maintain very good relations.
”Personally, I have always had a constructive working relationship with Mr. Lekjaa.
”There was no argument, no shouting, and no insults. Whoever spread this report is peddling outright falsehood”, he added.
The NFF chief also clarified that he did not make any remarks regarding officiating during the AFCON semi-final between Nigeria and Morocco at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on January 14.
“Prior to the match, I publicly stated that Nigeria had no concerns about the officiating. After the match, I made no comments whatsoever,” he stressed.
Gusau further praised the Morocco Football Federation, the Local Organising Committee, the Moroccan government, and CAF for hosting a smoothly run tournament, describing the AFCON as “highly successful” in every respect.
The NFF President’s statement comes amid the circulation of several unverified media reports online, which he said risked creating unnecessary tension between football authorities in Nigeria and Morocco.
