In a statement titled, \u2018A New Dimension of Toxic Politics in Nigeria\u2019, the former Anambra State governor said he arrived at the airport at about 7 am to board a flight to Enugu when he sighted the victorious team.\n<\/p>\n
He said he subsequently asked his Protocol Officer, Jackie Wayas, to find out whether he could greet and welcome the players but was informed that NFF officials had refused his request.<\/p>\n
Obi also alleged that the officials warned that they could lose their jobs if he approached the players, describing the incident as another example of what he called toxic politics in the country.<\/p>\n However, Dikko disputed Obi\u2019s account, saying the former governor was not seen around the team or the international terminal where the players arrived.\n<\/p>\n He explained that 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.<\/p>\n Dikko said airport officials and passengers welcomed and celebrated the players without discrimination based on political or other affiliations.\n<\/p>\n He added that Nigerians present at the airport took photographs, danced and shook hands with the players as they made their way to their buses.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe media present to cover the team\u2019s arrival duly captured this moment of joy and national pride, and Mr Obi was never captured anywhere near the team and\/or in the vicinity of the international wing of the airport,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n The NSC chairman criticised Obi for presenting the incident as evidence of political intimidation without first seeking clarification from the commission or the NFF.<\/p>\n He said, \u201cTurning a request for an unscheduled interaction into a toxic narrative of political victimisation shifts attention from the players\u2019 achievement to an individual political grievance.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThese young champions should not be drawn into that controversy and never deserved this from Mr Obi.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Dikko urged the former governor to apologise to the players, saying their moment of celebration should not have been overshadowed by the controversy. <\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n He further defended the officials\u2019 decision, explaining that the Flamingos were minors and had a dedicated safeguarding officer within their technical crew to protect and guide them.\n<\/p>\n According to him, the team\u2019s welfare, dignity and protection from undue pressure must remain central to every engagement, including planned photograph sessions.\n<\/p>\n \u201cOur 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The NSC chairman also said the players\u2019 achievement was the result of more than seven months of preparation, training, World Cup qualifiers, the WAFU tournament and the competition in Morocco.\n<\/p>\n He acknowledged Obi\u2019s congratulatory messages during the closing stages of the competition but called for more consistent support for the country\u2019s national teams beyond their moments of success.\n<\/p>\n \u201cA message at the height of a team\u2019s success is welcome, but it is not the same as sustained engagement with its preparation, welfare and development.\n<\/p>\n \u201cOur national teams deserve consistent support from everyone through preparation, competition and setbacks, as well as when they return with trophies,\u201d Dikko said.\n<\/p>\n He invited Obi and other Nigerians interested in meeting or hosting the players to submit formal requests to the NFF or NSC for appropriate arrangements to be made around the team\u2019s programme and welfare.\n<\/p>\n Dikko also cited the example of a Nigerian businessman who sponsored a delegation to Morocco to support the Flamingos during the final and subsequently donated $50,000 to the team on the pitch.\n<\/p>\n He said the donation was made without seeking media attention or political recognition.<\/p>\n The NSC chairman also addressed Obi\u2019s claim that he was prevented from visiting Super Eagles players in the dressing room after Nigeria\u2019s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Zimbabwe in Uyo on March 25, 2025.\n<\/p>\n Dikko, who said he attended the match alongside Obi and the governors of Lagos, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states, said the players had declined to receive visitors after the match.\n<\/p>\n He explained that the players wanted to hold an immediate meeting among themselves following the match\u2019s unfavourable outcome.\n<\/p>\n \u201cConsequently, no dignitary or official, including myself, the Governors and top officials of NFF visited the players in the dressing room.\n<\/p>\n \u201cTherefore, 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,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n He added that the match was governed by strict FIFA protocols, which required security officials to regulate access to technical areas, including dressing rooms.\n<\/p>\n According to Dikko, only accredited persons were permitted access to such areas, while other visitors were required to apply through the football federation and obtain prior clearance.<\/p>\n He warned that breaches of the protocols could attract fines against the NFF or lead to the stadium being barred from hosting further matches.\n<\/p>\n Dikko said football remained a national asset capable of bringing Nigerians together across ethnic, religious and political differences.\n<\/p>\n \u201cFootball is our National Asset that brings Nigerians together across ethnic, religious, and political differences and, indeed, breaks all our fault lines.\n<\/p>\n \u201cOur national teams belong to every Nigerian. The Flamingos have earned the country\u2019s admiration, and their World Cup victory should strengthen our unity. It must not become another platform for partisan division,\u201d he added.\n<\/p>\n The Flamingos made history on Saturday by defeating Japan 2-1 in the final of the FIFA U-17 Women\u2019s World Cup in Morocco, becoming the first African country to win the competition.\n <\/p>\n Source: <\/p>\n The National Sports Commission has explained why officials declined a request for the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, to meet Nigeria\u2019s victorious Under-17 women\u2019s team, the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13940\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Flamingos\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.punchng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/07232013\/Flamingos_1794090013.webp\")