FIFA Appoints Lagos Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Ayotunde Phillips Into Ethics Committee

By Augustine Akhilomen

Lagos State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Ayotunde Phillips has been appointed by the Federation International Football Association (FIFA) into the highly respected FIFA Ethics Committee on Thursday.

This is a big achievement for Nigeria considering the fact that he'll be the first judge in the country to be appointed by the world governing body and also a plus for Africa football.

Currently the Chairman of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), Justice Phillips’ election was ratified by the congress of FIFA at its 67th Congress in Manama, Bahrain on Thursday. This is further evidence of the rising profile of Nigeria in International Football circles as shown by the recent appointments of the NFF President into important CAF and FIFA roles.

The new FIFA Ethics Committee (Adjudicatory Chamber) is headed by Vassilios Skouris (Greece), the longest –serving President of the European Court of Justice. Fiti Sunia (American Samoa), a Judge and former Attorney General of American Samoa, is deputy chairman.

Other Members are Mohammad Ali Al Kamali (United Arab Emirates: Asia), Aivar Pohlak (Estonia: Europe), Margarita Echeverria (Costa Rica: North and Central America and the Caribbeans), Jack Kariko (Papua New Guinea: Oceania) and Flavio Zveiter (Brazil: South America).