- “The essence of sports is to promote unity and competition and enhance brotherhood among the countries
The Senate on Tuesday requested that the Libyan government apologise to the Nigerian government for the mistreatment of Nigeria’s senior male football team, the Super Eagles, in that country.
Following Libya’s 1-0 loss to Nigeria in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Friday, both teams were expected to meet again in Benina for their fourth Group D match.
The Super Eagles had departed for Libya on Sunday afternoon, but according to reports from the NFF camp, an hour before landing in Benghazi, the Nigerian aircraft was diverted to Al Abraq, a city more than two hours drive away.
The unexpected diversion left players and officials stranded without any assistance from the Libyan Football Federation, which failed to provide transportation.
Sequel to this, the Supper Eagles had threatened not to take part in the 2025 AFCON qualifier against Libya as they had reportedly remained stranded for over 12 hours at the airport.
Debating the issue after a motion by the Chairman Senate Committee on Sports, Senator Sulaiman Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila (Kano South) during plenary on Tuesday, condemned the act, saying the treatment was not in tandem with sports best practices.
The Deputy President of the Senate, Barau I. Jibrin, who presided over the session said, “The essence of sports is to promote unity and competition and enhance brotherhood among the countries on the continent. The way our players were treated is terrible and condemnable.
“Fortunately, you (Kawu) have come through a personal explanation, and this is what we intended it to do because we don’t want a diplomatic row. So, we call on the ambassador and whoever is concerned and the authorities to come out and apologise for what they have done to our national team.”
Earlier in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Hon Eseme Eyiboh, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio demanded a thorough investigation into the matter.
Akpabio said, “We demand a thorough investigation from the Disciplinary Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and appropriate sanctions to be meted out against those involved.
“It is also imperative that the Libyan authorities take immediate action to investigate this incident and ensure that those responsible are held accountable to prevent future occurrences.”
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