Nigeria restore sacked official

NIGERIA have re-instated sacked football federation secretary-general Musa Amadu in a bid to have the country’s Fifa ban swiftly reversed. Fifa banned the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Monday because of government interference in the sport.Last month’s decision by the Nigeria Sports Commission to force Amadu to stand down from the NFF did not go down well with Fifa. Amadu returned to his office on Tuesday in keeping with one of Fifa’s demands.“I can confirm that the secretary-general [Musa Amadu] is back in the office and started working on important football matters straightaway,” NFF spokesman Robinson Okosun told BBC Sport. “[The Fifa ban] is not a good situation because of the uncertainty that surround our teams but everyone is working round the clock to sort things out.”Amadu’s return is sparking optimism that Fifa might rescind its ban in time for the Super Eagles to tackle Guinea on Sunday. The World Cup finalists had been due to contest their second 2012 Nations Cup qualifier in Conakry but the timing of this Group B clash is now uncertain.For Nigerian officials need to address other outstanding issues that resulted in Fifa’s indefinite ban. These include the Sports Ministry’s decision to restart the league without relegation from last season, and ongoing court action barring newly-elected members of the NFF from fulfilling their duties. In its statement on Monday, Fifa said that Nigeria’s suspension will ‘be maintained until court actions have ceased and the duly-elected NFF Executive Committee is able to work without interference’. Agencies