President Goodluck Jonathan has relieved the Minister of Sports and Chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC), Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, of his position.
Abdullahi, who was deployed to the NSC from the Ministry of Youths Development in 2011 was conspicuously absent at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting where his sack was announced yesterday.
Interestingly, the minister was on his way to Poland to attend the Indoor Athletics Championship when the news of his sack hit the air waves. He is expected to return home immediately and prepare his hand over notes for his successor.
To replace him is one of the newly sworn-in ministers, Dr. Tamuno Danagogo, from Rivers state.
The reasons for his removal are not yet clear despite the fact that he was able to record tremendous achievements for the country in the round leather game.
Under his tutelage, the Super Eagles won the AFCON Nations Cup in South Africa after 19 years of waiting in the limbo. The Stephen Okechukwu Keshi-led Super Eagles also secured qualification ticket for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Finals as one of the continent’s representatives.
Also, the Golden Eaglets won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in UAE, while the female teams, U-17 and U-20 secured qualification for various international meets.
His achievements in other sports apart from football are, however, infinitesimal with only Blessing Okagbare winning Silver at the IAAF championship in Russia in 2013.
However, Blueprint Sport gathered that the Senate Committee on Sports might have complained to the president about the arrogant attitude of the former journalist-turned politician.
It is on record that for three years that he was at the helm of affairs at the NSC, he never for once appeared before the Senate to defend the budget of the NSC, preferring to send his subordinates.
On Tuesday, he was billed to lead the commission’s officials to defend the 2014 sports budget before the Senate Sports Committee but was again absent.
The chairman of the committee, Adamu Gumba, who was visibly irked by his effrontery had to put the budget defence on hold and ask the Director-General of NSC, Gbenga Elegbeleye, to return when the minister was ready for them.
Defending the minister’s absence, Elegbeleye told the committee that the minister left for Poland immediately after the PDP rally in Ilorin.
But during the PDP rally in Ilorin, a handful of supporters carried placards calling for Abdullahi’s removal to the chagrin of his few aides in attendance. He was not even accorded any recognition by either the president or anybody on the podium.
Even though he has parted ways with the godfather of Kwara politics, Sen. Bukola Saraki, it was alleged also that he was hobnobbing with APC in the night and PDP in the day.