Sports

Dalung shuns Senate’s summon, faces arrest

Published

8 years ago

May 12, 2016

Dalung shuns Senate’s summon, faces arrest

The Senate on Thursday summoned the Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mr. Solomon Dalung, before it on Thursday April 19, by 2pm, to brief it on the preparedness of the ministry towards the 2016 Olympic Games.

The summon was issued by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Sports and Youth Development, Senator Obinna Ogba.

Ogba who was angered by the failure of the Minister to honour invitations of the Committee two consecutive times, threatened to issue a warrant of arrest on him if he failed to appear next week Thursday.

Speaking at the venue of the meeting, Ogba who was visibly angry with the attitude of the Minister, said the committee would give the Dalung another chance to appear before applying its constitutional powers.

He said “the Sports Minister has not been respecting the Senate. Again, my personal assessment of the him is that based on the myriad of challenges facing Mr Dalung one of which is the Rio Olympics. What has the Minister been able to do about Nigeria’s preparation for Rio?”

He regretted that there was no substantive coach for the Super Eagles and wondered how a team in such state would be able to live up to expectation.

The Senator further lamented that the President of Nigeria Football Federation would make a statement and the Minister would make contrary statement to that of the NFF boss, thereby creating crisis in the sector.

Ogba said, “I think there is need for us to call a spade, a spade because we can’t continue this way. We are giving the Minister a new date of Thursday next week for him to brief the Senate on the level of preparation for the Olympics”.

“The Minister lacks the political will to resolve NFF crisis. Dalung is a Minister and he is not to run the affairs of the NFF.”

For instance, when the NFF President said he wanted to employ foreign coach and the Minister would come and say it has not been given approval, it is not the duty of the Minister to give approval or not.”

“I was the first Vice President of NFA and I want to use this medium to tell the Hon Minister of what we want to do and not to get approval from him. Whoever runs the Nigeria Federation of football is elected and the person has the mandate of the people”.

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