The Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Hon. Bukola Olopade, has disputed claims by former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi that officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) prevented him from greeting members of the Flamingos following their return from the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
Obi had alleged that NFF officials stopped him from welcoming the victorious U-17 women’s national team at the Abuja airport after they returned to Nigeria as world champions.
However, Olopade dismissed the account, questioning how the former governor could have encountered the players given the time and circumstances of their arrival.
According to the NSC Director-General, the Flamingos arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at about 5:30 a.m., when it was still dark and domestic flight check-in activities had not commenced.
He explained that the players completed immigration procedures and left through the underground exit of the international terminal, while Obi was reportedly at the domestic terminal preparing to board a flight to Enugu.
Olopade argued that the distance between the two locations and the team’s movement through the airport made it impossible for Obi to have seen the players as claimed.
“The plane landed at 5:30 a.m. It was still very dark. No local flight was checking in at that time. Even if they were checking in, there was no way Obi would have seen those children from where he was at the local airport,” he said.
The NSC boss also described Obi as a “pathological liar” over the allegation, strongly rejecting the former governor’s version of events.
The disagreement comes after the Flamingos made history by defeating Japan 2-1 in the final of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Rabat, Morocco, becoming the first African team to win the competition.
What do you feel about this post?
Like
Love
Happy
Haha
Sad
