By Victor Enyinnaya on October 10, 2022

You know my stand on this Sports Minister, Sunday Dare. Note that I don’t have  anything personal against him. His undoing has been several inconsistencies that characterised his administration. He swims in controversies and don’t care a hoot courting such. In short, it is like his middle name. He enjoys such to the fullest too. He has taken so many retrogressive steps or decisions that set the progress of sports development backwards several times and ways.

In those his dark days, this columnist kept asking who advises Dare. We in Daily Sports believe vehemently in objectivity, talking also to all sides to the news or analysis on a subject matter.

Therefore, after much deliberations and counter deliberations it was finally concluded that the recent inauguration by Sunday Dare of the Interim Management Committee (IMC), a body to oversee Nigeria Professional Football League. Our concerns in this stable have been how to institute viable local league regime in the country. The stability of our league would bring about more sanity into our already and steadily surging talented football populace in the country.

Daily Sports insist that any step taken to steady this would be supported even to high heavens as it would no doubt bring  about development, sanity and hold to our league system. One without looking back haven wasted much energy and sundry thumbing up that any forward for the first time by Sunday Dare to instantly uphold the removal of the illegal League Management Committee led all these years by Shehu Dikko.
The sack of the illegal league body by Sunday Dare sometime ago brought great relief not only to the league system in the country but to football bluffs and analysts.  And without much ado, last week Dare inaugurated what many have given a vote of confidence as IMC members.

We all read what Egypt harvested via prudent, transparent, well articulated administration of their football making huge profits from the sales of their players from their local league which not only enhanced the credibility and reputation of the Football Federation managers but also put the Egyptians in frontline before the entire world because they knew what the country wanted and where she is heading towards growing solid and virile league in their country.

One prays that this Egyptian example would be the lot of the newly inaugurated IMC members by Sunday Dare. The names in IMC can do the Egyptian magic. It is doable here judging from the caliber of names Sunday Dare floated out last week to reposition  and make drastic changes which will make Nigeria League not only profitable but also penchant great henceforth. 

It was against that inflammable background that we are backing that laudable step by Sunday Dare.  We say forward with that step.  Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, released terms of reference and job description for the Interim Management Committee (IMC), a body he set up recently to manage the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).
 Dare had shut down the League Management Company (LMC), headed by former board member of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Shehu Dikko, and set up the IMC. He claimed that the decision was the government's last resort to salvage the country’s football.

This columnist remains pleased with such move and job descriptions he handed the Gbenga Elegbeleye-led IMC, tomorrow, is to identify monies received by Shehu Dikko and his group at LMC in the past seven years, how they were utilised and also take stock of assets and liabilities of the League.
Let me chip in some few lines here that the Chairman of the IMC, Gbenga Elegbeleye did beautiful job when he was in the defunct National Sports Commission (NSC) as Director General. If that track record is anything to rely upon therefore IMC will be on the right pathway going forward. He knows his onions’ in terrain once he wants to do so.   
It is instructive to note that there have been divided opinions on Dare’s action, with keen watchers, saying that as a Sports Minister, his duty is to advise the NFF on how to run its affairs, but not to impose his opinion on them.
On the other hand, some have supported Dare’s bid to clear the mess that has been the practice or norm in the football body in the last eight years it has been very abnormality. 

The Sports Minister disclosed recently that the NFF, under the present administration, received in excess of N16 billion. Many may have forgotten that operatives of the Nigeria Police Force stormed the office of the LMC in Abuja to seal it up.

It would be recalled that the IMC, which Dare set up about two weeks ago, will replace the ‘illegal’ LMC headed by Dikko. Before then, the LMC operating licence was said to have been withdrawn by the NFF following a directive from the Sports Ministry. While former Director General in the Ministry, Gbenga Elegbeleye, is chairman of the new IMC, veteran journalist and football administrator, Paul Bassey, is the Vice chairman.

Former Super Eagles and Enugu Rangers striker, Davidson Owumi, is the head of Operations, with Olumide Bamiduro as the Secretary.

Other members of the IMC include Kunle Soname, Daniel Amokachi, Calvin Emeka Onwuka, Aliyu Adamu, a representative of the NFF, representative of the Nigeria Police Force and Club owners chairman, Barrister Danladi Ibrahim.

The notion in the air is renewed and fresh about the composition of the IMC; most have some good measure of credibility and airs around them. That will go to great extent for the group to do great job ahead of them bearing in mind the fate of the Egyptians Football Federation administration that post huge profit from the sale of players from their league to foreign clubs.

The like of Paul Bassey brings confidence in the entire set up. We promise our dear readers of close up on IMC our usual way to monitor and to ensure accountability of newly inaugurated league body.

Stay with Daily Sports (www.dailysportsng.com) sports reporting, analysis, politically and features at their best, fearless, balanced, authentic and authoritative.  Keep shooting hard till next week as we wait!!

Source Daily Sports Nigeria

Posted October 10, 2022

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