Don’t politicise sports, Presidency tells Obi over Flamingos greeting

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Nigeria Democratic Congress, accused officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) of preventing him from greeting members of the Flamingos team at the Abuja airport. According to a statement titled “A New Dimension of Toxic Politics in Nigeria,” Obi arrived at the airport at 7 am on Monday to board a flight to Enugu and saw the Under-17 women’s team, which had just returned from winning the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.

Obi stated that after asking his Protocol Officer, Jackie Wayas, to inquire about greeting the players, he was told that NFF officials had refused the request and asked that he not approach.

The Presidency and former presidential aide Bashir Ahmad have faulted Obi regarding these claims. Punch reports that the Presidency accused Obi of politicising national sports in response to the allegation.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch, Punch Nigeria, Daily Trust — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.