By Osasu Obayiuwana BBC Sport

If we do not act in time, we could have difficulties in meeting Fifa's deadline Nigeria FA chairman Ibrahim Galadima

World football's governing body Fifa has ruled that the Nigeria FA (NFA) must reform its statutes by 31 December or face an international ban.

Fifa's committee for national associations, which sat on 22 September, said its football laws compromised the independence of the body.

The current statute - Decree 101 of 1992 - gives Nigeria's sports ministry the right to appoint the NFA's secretary-general, who is the chief executive, and several members of the board.

This is in contravention of Fifa guidelines which state that FA board members must be elected and not nominated.

The revised statutes are also expected to ensure that the secretary-general is answerable only to the NFA's board and not the sports ministry.

NFA chairman Ibrahim Galadima told BBC Sport that the board is expected to discuss the Fifa order on Wednesday.

"Fifa's ruling will be one of the matters that we will discuss, in order to prepare an appropriate response which I will send to them," Galadima said.

Galadima also told BBC Sport that the recent conduct of Taiwo Ogunjobi, the NFA's secretary-general, will be examined by the board.

"Fifa wrote a letter to us, asking for information on the committee set up by the sports minister [to recommend changes to the NFA's structure].

"He went ahead to respond to the letter without consulting the board.

"As far as I'm concerned, his response did not reflect the official position of the association."

Galadima said the three months given to Nigeria to carry out the reforms leaves the West African nation with little time to put its house in order.

"Whatever changes we make to the statutes would have to be passed into law by the National Assembly (Nigeria's parliament).

"This means we must conclude the reforms in time, so that the draft statute can be presented to them.