Exactly 37 days in office, the Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Akin Dare has met twice with the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation currently under investigation by anti-corruption agencies. After meeting with his predecessor, Solomon Dalung, precisely on September 5, 2019, Dare has continued his consultations with key stakeholders in the sporting sector.
This week, the minister of sports met with the leadership of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, the Badminton Federation of Nigeria, BFN, and the Weightlifting Federation of Nigeria.
In the separate meetings Dare commended the federations on their impressive performances in international competitions particularly the outing in the 2019 All Africa Games and qualifications for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
However, one meeting that has continued to generate concern among stakeholders is the one with the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation.
On the very day Dare was sworn in as minister of sports on August 21, he reported in his office in Abuja and among the stakeholders who welcomed him were the embattled chiefs of the NFF, Amaju Pinnick, Shehu Dikko and other NFF officials.
The presence of the NFF men at the Federal Secretariat to welcome the minister didn’t generate as much ado as when he received the trio of Pinnick, Dikko and former international Chikelue Iloenyosi in his office in a closed door meeting. Considering that they are currently facing corruption charges running into billions of naira, the speed with which the NFF chiefs rushed to meet with the new sports minister has set tongues wagging.
Even as Nigerians were still dissecting the minister’s meeting with Pinnick and Dikko, the second took place early this week, September 20 to be precise. This time, it was with the entire board of the NFF.
As if he was hit hard by thoughts of millions of Nigerians, Dare promised not to interfere in the ongoing investigations being carried out by the anti-corruption agencies against the leadership of the NFF.
In as much as the minister has made it clear that he is not going to interfere in the investigation of the NFF chieftains, recent signs that Pinnick and Dikko are ready to grab at any available straw to save their necks have made some Nigerians to question why the minister is fraternizing with men of ‘questionable integrity’.
Furthermore, most Nigerians have expressed shock and condemned the sports minister who joined the NFF to endorse the deal with Italian giants, Roma and also co-signed the press statement issued by the NFF after the meeting of September 20.
Consequently, some football stakeholders have expressed worry that the incumbent may be treading a dangerous path just like his predecessor who got himself in NFF’s deadly traps.
A former NFF presidential candidate, Hon. Lumumba Dah Adeh said the minister must be careful not to be involved in unnecessary controversies.
-trustsports