The National Sports Commission (NSC) has responded to claims by Peter Obi that he was prevented from celebrating with the Flamingos, Nigeria’s U-17 women’s football team, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), had said he was stopped from meeting and felicitating the victorious team because officials told his protocol team that they could lose their jobs if they allowed him near.
In a statement on Monday, Shehu Dikko, chairman of NSC, relayed that officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) who accompanied and received the team, reported that they did not see Obi near or around the players at the airport.
According to the officials, two individuals wearing Obi campaign face caps and other campaign attire approached them to request that the former governor meet and take photographs with the players.
The proposed arrangement was also likely to involve campaign materials, the NSC said.
“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 statement reads.
“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.”
Obi had said he was at the airport to board a flight to Enugu, which would ordinarily depart from the domestic terminal, while the Flamingos arrived through the international terminal.
Dikko said airport officials and passengers welcomed and celebrated the team without discrimination on grounds of political or other affiliations.
“This moment of joy and national pride was duly captured by the media present to cover the team’s arrival and Mr. Obi was never captured anywhere near the team and or at the vicinity of the international wing of the Airport,” he said.
The NSC boss said the commission takes strong exception to Obi’s decision to present the incident as evidence of political intimidation without first seeking clarification from the NFF or the commission.
According to him, 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,” he said.
He urged the NDC presidential candidate to reflect deeply and offer an unreserved apology to the players “for souring their moment of glory with his regrettable actions, subsequent statement and media interviews deliberately weaponising a non-issue for political gain”.
He noted that 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,” he stated.
“This responsibility includes managing access to the players and ensuring that interactions including planned photograph sessions are appropriate and within the regulations.”
He said young athletes in the country must not be used to suggest allegiance to any political party, adding that considerations apply equally to public officials, political figures and the public.
Dikko said the team’s journey to the World Cup final involved more than seven months of preparation, training, World Cup qualifiers, the WAFU tournament and the competition in Morocco.
He acknowledged Obi’s congratulatory messages during the closing stages of the competition but said such gestures were different from sustained engagement with the team’s preparation, welfare and development.
“Our national teams deserve consistent support from everyone through preparation, competition and setbacks, as well as when they return with trophies,” he said.
Dikko added that Obi, and any other Nigerian who wishes to meet or host the Flamingos should 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 the rules.
The NSC chairman also disputed Obi’s claim that he was prevented from visiting the Super Eagles in the dressing room after Nigeria’s World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe in Uyo on March 25, 2025.
He said the players had declined to receive visitors after the match, which ended unfavourably for Nigeria, as they wanted to hold an immediate meeting among themselves.
Dikko, who said he sat on the same row as Obi and a sprinkling of governors during the match, added that no dignitary or official, including himself, the governors and top NFF officials, visited the players.
He added that FIFA protocols restricted access to the dressing room to accredited persons or those cleared through the football federation.
