NFF, Lagos FA Clash Over Ownership of Ogunlana Drive Liaison Office
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Lagos State Football Association (LSFA) have become embroiled in a dispute over the ownership and future use of the federation’s long-standing Lagos Liaison Office at 146/148 Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, Lagos.
The disagreement followed an NFF request that the LSFA vacate the property to allow the federation to commence renovation work, with the Lagos FA subsequently challenging the ownership basis of the request and calling for the legal status of the property to be properly established.
In a letter dated September 9, 2026, the NFF, through Queen W. Otarakpo, Esq., for the Acting General Secretary, informed the Chairman of the LSFA that it intended to renovate its liaison office at Ogunlana Drive.
The federation recalled that the Lagos FA had been granted temporary use of the facility while renovation work was being carried out at its office at the Onikan Stadium.
According to the NFF, the renovation of the Onikan Stadium office has now been completed, making it possible for the Lagos FA to return to its former base.
“In view of the fact that the renovation work at the Onikan Stadium has finished, the NFF wishes to renovate its Liaison Office to put it to use,” the letter stated.
The federation consequently asked the Lagos FA to consider relocating to its Onikan Stadium office to enable the proposed renovation of the Ogunlana Drive facility.
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LSFA Challenges NFF Ownership
The response from Hajji Gafar, Chairman of the Lagos State Football Association, has introduced a significant historical and ownership dimension to the matter.
Gafar said he does not believe the NFF owns the property, arguing that historical records available to the Lagos FA indicate that 146/148 Ogunlana Drive was originally acquired by the Lagos Amateur Football Association (LAFA).
According to his account, LAFA acquired the property under the chairmanship of Alhaji Alex Oni from the Lagos Executive Development Board (LEDB), then located at Idumagbo Street, Lagos Island.
Gafar said the history of the property is closely intertwined with the development of football administration in Lagos and Nigeria.
From LAFA Property to NFA Liaison Office
Gafar traced the institutional history to 1963, when Clement Ndukwe of Railways Football Club was elected Chairman of LAFA.
Following a vote of no confidence against Ndukwe’s board, the late Chief Israel Adebajo, owner of Stationery Stores Football Club and then Treasurer of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), became Acting Chairman.
An ensuing election produced Alhaji Alex Oni of Lagos City Council Football Club as chairman, while Adebajo became Patron of LAFA.
During Adebajo’s tenure as Acting Chairman, Gafar said, the Ogunlana Drive property was used as a camp for the Green Eagles and also provided accommodation for some NFA officials and staff.
At the time, the NFA Secretariat was located under one of the stands at the National Stadium, Surulere.
A major change reportedly came in 1989, when then Sports Minister Group Captain Tony Ikhazoboh encouraged sporting associations to establish their secretariats outside the stadium.
Gafar said the NFA subsequently moved its operations to Ogunlana Drive, while other sporting associations established offices elsewhere.
The NFA continued to operate from the property even after some associations returned to the National Stadium because of financial constraints.
With the advent of professional football in Nigeria in 1990, Gafar said its operations were also conducted from one of the wings of the twin duplex at the Ogunlana Drive property.
Following the eventual relocation of the NFA to Abuja, the facility continued to function as the federation’s Lagos Liaison Office.
‘Use Does Not Constitute Transfer of Ownership’
The central issue raised by the LSFA is whether the NFA’s prolonged occupation of the facility amounted to a transfer of ownership.
Gafar maintains that, based on the historical records he has consulted, ownership remained with LAFA and subsequently passed to the Lagos State Football Association.
“It is therefore important to place on record that, to the best of the records available to me, 146/148 Ogunlana Drive was never formally transferred by LAFA to the NFA,” he stated.
He added: “Its use by the NFA and subsequently the NFF as a liaison office does not, by itself, constitute a transfer of ownership.”
The LSFA chairman said he recognised that he was not personally present during all the historical events surrounding the property. However, he explained that he had spent considerable time consulting relevant individuals, studying available records and examining the institutional relationship between the NFA, LAFA, NFF and LSFA.
Call for Ownership Status to Be Established
Gafar has consequently called for the historical and legal status of 146/148 Ogunlana Drive to be established before decisions are taken concerning its renovation, possession, occupation or future use.
The NFF’s September 9 letter, meanwhile, was framed around the completion of renovation work at the LSFA’s Onikan Stadium premises and the federation’s intention to renovate and put its own liaison office back into use.
The two positions leave the ownership question at the centre of the disagreement: whether the Ogunlana Drive property is legally owned by the NFF, or whether its historical ownership rests with LAFA and its successor, the LSFA.
That question may ultimately require the relevant title documents, acquisition records and other formal property records to establish conclusively.
Gafar Addresses Reports About His Position
The LSFA chairman also addressed reports that individuals or groups were seeking his removal from office.
Gafar said such reports would not distract him from the association’s work, adding that the structures established by his administration would continue regardless of what happens to his tenure.
“If they eventually succeed in getting me out, I have a capable Vice Chairman as my lieutenant and vibrant Board Members committed to the innovative blueprint of the Lagos State Football Association,” he said.
He added that, irrespective of the circumstances, the work and institutional progress already started by the association would continue.
For now, the Ogunlana Drive dispute has moved beyond a question of office accommodation. It has opened a broader conversation about the history, ownership and institutional use of a property that has played a significant role in the administration of football in Lagos and Nigeria for decades.
