Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has condemned the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over the alleged mismanagement of funds received from FIFA for stadium development and youth talent programmes.

In a statement via his official X handle, Obi described the project reportedly executed in Kebbi State as “a so-called $1.2 million stadium that is a national embarrassment.”

He recalled meeting with the NFF board during his tenure as Anambra State governor — an encounter that inspired him to invest in sports infrastructure to raise the state’s profile.

“FIFA’s recent revelation about the mismanagement of funds released to the NFF for stadium development and youth talent growth is both sickening and shameful,” Obi said. “It perfectly mirrors the broader decay in how our scarce national resources are handled. I am certain that further investigations will reveal even worse realities.”

He recounted that Awka had been listed among six locations for FIFA-funded stadiums. “We allocated land immediately and were told the project would be handled through the Federal Ministry of Sports. That was the last we heard of it,” he wrote.

Obi said his administration proceeded to build mini-stadiums, including the Chuba Ikpeazu Memorial Stadium and the Godwin Achebe Stadium in Onitsha. “Years later, nothing came of the FIFA project, so we started building the Awka Stadium ourselves,” he added.

The former governor expressed disappointment over reports that FIFA and CAF had disbursed over $25 million to the NFF since 2013, with little to show for it. “The so-called $1.2 million stadium in Kebbi is an embarrassment. The structure does not in any way reflect the funds said to have been spent,” Obi said.