U-17 Women FIBA: FG probe Spain visa denial

The Federal Government has concluded plans to probe the refusal of the Spanish Embassy to grant travelling visas to Nigeria U-17 Women Basketball team thereby stopping the team from participating at the ongoing U-17 Women basketball competition in Madrid, Spain.

Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalong, disclosed this after a meeting on Tuesday with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja.

“Before I came to the State House, I was in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to officially protest the treatment given to Nigeria. I must really investigate more because the reasons given by the embassy of Spain holds no water.

“Firstly, they said the letter signed requesting for visa was signed by a dead person. I had to, in my office today, invite the author of the letter to come to my office and he is a living person.

“The second reason was that the lists sent was padded and that there was an attempt to smuggle some people and traffic them across the border. The list is not up to 20 (12 and 7 officials) and these were the people that went to Madagascar for competition and there was nothing like padding in it.

He added that, “The last reason was that it was out of time or it was brought in short notice, this one too did not stand the test of the investigation I did. This is why we have protested officially to the embassy and I have written the international federation on the treatment they gave to us.”

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