Nigerian football was thrown into mourning yesterday when the death of Akwa Ibom FA Chairman, Emmanuel Ibah, 61, was announced.
A member of the executive committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and coordinator for the South-South zone of the body, Ibah, according to family sources, gave up the ghost yesterday morning following coronavirus complications. He was said to have underlying diabetic and hypertensive medical conditions.
A crestfallen NFF President, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, said, “This has been a tragic year on so many fronts. Emmanuel Ibah was like a brother. He was my colleague from the South South on the NFF Executive Committee and a very loyal and supportive person. We have lost another pillar on the Board. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace.”
Ibah’s unfortunate demise made him the third NFF executive committee member and the fourth key figure in the federation to pass away this year. He was predeceased by member from the South East, Chidi Ofo Okenwa, who died on May 5 and Musa Adamu Duhu, who passed on September 19. NFF’s Head of ICT, Tolulope Abe, died on August 29.
Also lamenting Ibah’s demise, head, Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL), Aisha Falode, said NWFL would greatly miss the late Ibah, “whose great vision helped tremendously in the further development of the women’s league in Nigeria in the last two years.”
