Ubakor Gerald

PRESS STATEMENT NSC RESPONDS TO PETER OBI: FLAMINGOS’ WORLD CUP VICTORY MUST NOT BE POLITICISED The National Sports Commission rejects Mr Peter Obi’s portrayal of the Flamingos’ reception at the Abuja airport as an act of political exclusion. The Flamingos, Nigeria’s U-17 Women’s National Team, returned from Morocco as FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup champions. Their achievement should unite the country and must not be drawn into partisan controversy. The NSC and NFF officials who accompanied and received the team have reported that they did not see Mr Obi near or around the players at the airport. According to their account, two individuals wearing Peter Obi campaign face caps and other attire approached them to request that Mr Obi meet and take photographs with the players. The proposed arrangement would also likely involve campaign materials. The players had just arrived early that morning on an Air Maroc flight at about 5.30 a.m. and were tired after their journey and a demanding competition. The officials exercised their judgment in declining the sudden meeting and photograph request at that time, taking account of the players’ welfare and the circumstances of the request and without any prior notice of any arrangement for airport reception for the team. Nothing in the account provided by the officials supports the suggestion that their jobs were at risk. Mr Obi stated that he was at the airport to board a flight to Enugu, which would ordinarily depart through the domestic terminal. The Flamingos, returning from Morocco, arrived through the international terminal, where airport officials and passengers welcomed and celebrated them without any distinction based on political and or any other affiliation. Indeed, Nigerians present as the team arrived were able to express their joy and support for the team, taking pictures, dancing and shaking hands with the players as they made their way to their buses. This moment of joy and national pride was duly captured by the media present to cover the team Arrival and Mr. Obi was never captured anywhere near the team and or at the vicinity of the international wing of the Airport. The Commission takes strong exception to Mr Obi’s decision to present this episode as evidence of political intimidation without first seeking clarification from the Nigeria Football Federation or the Commission. Turning a request for an unscheduled interaction into a toxic narrative of political victimisation shifts attention from the players’ achievement to an individual political grievance. These young champions should not be drawn into that controversy and never deserved this from Mr. Obi. I urged and advised that His Excellency Mr. Peter Obi reflect deeply and offer an unreserved apology to these young girls for souring their moment of glory with his regrettable actions, subsequent statement and media interviews deliberately weaponising a non-issue for political gain. The Flamingos are minors and have a dedicated safeguarding official within the technical crew to protect and guide the players. Their welfare, dignity and protection from undue pressure must remain central to every engagement. This responsibility includes managing access to the players and ensuring that interactions including planned photograph sessions are appropriate and within the regulations. Our young athletes must not be used to suggest allegiance to any political party. These considerations apply equally to public officials, political figures and other members of the public. These girls’ journey did not begin when they reached the World Cup final. For more than seven months, they worked through preparation, training, World Cup qualifiers, the WAFU tournament and the World Cup itself in Morocco. Mr Obi’s congratulatory messages in the closing stages of the competition are acknowledged. A message at the height of a team’s success is welcome, but it is not the same as sustained engagement with its preparation, welfare and development. We would welcome the same public attention from Mr Obi to the work and sacrifices behind these achievements. Our national teams deserve consistent support from everyone through preparation, competition and setbacks, as well as when they return with trophies. I invite Mr Obi, and any other Nigerian who wishes to meet or host the Flamingos, to contact the NFF or NSC with a formal request so that suitable arrangements can be made around the team’s programme, welfare, and, most importantly, to ensure every activity is implemented within rules. There is ample opportunity to translate goodwill into practical support for these players and the programmes developing the next generation of Nigerian athletes. For instance, immediately after the final match, a Nigerian businessman who had sponsored a delegation to Morocco to support the team in the final further donated a huge sum of $50,000 USD to the team right on the pitch without seeking any media mention and/or taking political capital out of these patriotic gestures. It is relevant to address Mr. Obi’s other claim that he was similarly prevented from visiting the Super Eagles players last year in the dressing room after the World Cup qualifier match between Nigeria and Zimbabwe held on March 25, 2025 at Uyo. I can attest that this claim is also not factually correct. On that occasion at the match, I sat on the same row as Mr. Obi as well as the governors of Lagos, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states amongst other dignitaries. Given the unfavourable outcome of the match, the Super Eagles players expressed clearly their unwillingness to receive any visitors in the dressing room as they wanted to hold an immediate soul-searching meeting amongst themselves. Consequently, no dignitary or official, including myself, the Governors and top officials of NFF visited the players in the dressing room. Therefore, Mr. Obi cannot claim, more than a year later, that he had somehow been singled out on that occasion for mistreatment by anybody and or blocked from seeing the players. For proper context, the match at Uyo was an international FIFA match governed by strict protocol arrangements implemented by FIFA. This includes the appointment and posting of a security official by FIFA who managed security for the match including moderating access to all technical areas of the stadium, such as the dressing rooms, on the day of the match. This ensures that only accredited persons have access to these areas. Any other person must apply through the football federation and be pre-cleared in order to gain such access. Infact a breach of this protocol may result to fines against the Federation and or even banning of the stadium from hosting further matches. Football is our National Asset that brings Nigerians together across ethnic, religious, and political differences and, indeed, breaks all our fault lines. Our national teams belong to every Nigerian. The Flamingos have earned the country’s admiration, and their World Cup victory should strengthen our unity. It must not become another platform for partisan division. SHEHU DIKKO Chairman, National Sports Commission Federal Republic of Nigeria 09 November 2026