Flamingos: Apologise now, NSC tells Obi, says he wasn’t seen near players at airport

By Nwafor Sunday Polycarp, Online News Editor The National Sports Commission (NSC) has asked the presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, to apologise to members of Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, over his claims of political exclusion during their reception at the Abuja airport. The NSC Chairman, Shehu Dikko, said officials of the Commission and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) who received the team did not see Obi near or around the players at the airport.

Dikko stated this in a statement issued on Monday in response to Obi’s account of an alleged incident during the reception of the Flamingos, who recently returned from Morocco after winning the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. He rejected Obi’s portrayal of the incident as an act of political exclusion, insisting that the team’s historic achievement should unite Nigerians rather than become a subject of partisan controversy.

According to Dikko, two individuals wearing campaign face caps and other Peter Obi-branded clothing approached officials at the airport to request that the former Anambra State governor meet and take photographs with the players. He said the proposed interaction could also have involved campaign materials, adding that officials declined the request because it was unexpected and there had been no prior arrangement for such a meeting.

Dikko explained that the players arrived early in the morning, at about 5.30 a.m., aboard an Air Maroc flight and were tired after their journey and demanding World Cup campaign. He said the decision to decline the request was taken in consideration of the players’ welfare and the circumstances surrounding the proposed interaction. The NSC chairman also disputed the suggestion that officials feared losing their jobs over the incident.

He said Obi had stated that 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 further said passengers and airport officials at the international terminal welcomed and celebrated the players without discrimination based on political affiliation.

He added that members of the public took photographs with the players, danced and shook hands with them as they made their way to their buses. According to him, media coverage of the reception did not capture Obi anywhere near the team or the vicinity of the international terminal. The NSC chairman criticised Obi for presenting the episode as political intimidation without first seeking clarification from the Commission or the NFF.

He said the presidential candidate’s subsequent statements and media interviews had shifted attention from the players’ achievement to what he described as an individual political grievance. Dikko urged Obi to reflect on the incident and offer an unreserved apology to the young players. “Their welfare, dignity and protection from undue pressure must remain central to every engagement,” he said, stressing that the Flamingos are minors and have a designated safeguarding official within their technical crew.

He added that access to the players and arrangements for photographs must comply with appropriate regulations, noting that national athletes should not be used to suggest allegiance to any political party. Dikko also emphasised that the team’s World Cup triumph followed more than seven months of preparation, training, qualifying matches and participation in the WAFU tournament before their campaign in Morocco.

While acknowledging Obi’s congratulatory messages during the closing stages of the competition, he said national teams deserved consistent support throughout their preparation, competitions and setbacks, rather than attention only when they won trophies. The NSC chairman invited Obi and other Nigerians interested in meeting or hosting the players to submit formal requests to the Commission or the NFF for appropriate arrangements.

He cited the example of a Nigerian businessman who sponsored a delegation to Morocco to support the team during the final and subsequently donated $50,000 to the players on the pitch, without seeking media attention or political recognition. On Super Eagles dressing-room claim Dikko also disputed Obi’s claim that he was prevented from visiting Super Eagles players in their dressing room after Nigeria’s 1-1 draw with Zimbabwe in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Uyo on March 25, 2025.

He said he sat on the same row with Obi and the governors of Lagos, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states during the match. According to him, following the unfavourable result, the players expressed their desire to hold an immediate meeting among themselves and declined to receive visitors in the dressing room. Dikko said the decision applied to all dignitaries and officials, including himself, the governors and senior NFF officials.

He therefore maintained that Obi was not singled out or prevented from accessing the players