The National Sports Commission (NSC) has rejected Mr Peter Obi’s claim that the Flamingos were prevented from meeting him at the Abuja airport, insisting that the team’s historic FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup victory should unite the country and not be drawn into partisan controversy.

The Flamingos returned from Morocco on Monday morning as world champions after defeating Japan 2-1 in the final to become the first African team to win the title.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko, the Commission said officials who received the team reported that they did not see Mr Obi near the players.

According to the officials, two individuals wearing Obi campaign face caps approached them to request that Obi meet and take photographs with the players, an arrangement that would likely involve campaign materials. 

The players had just arrived at about 5.30 a.m. on an Air Maroc flight and were tired after the journey and a demanding competition, so officials declined the sudden request in the interest of the players’ welfare, without any prior notice of an airport reception arrangement.

The NSC noted that Obi said he was at the airport to board a flight to Enugu, which would ordinarily depart through the domestic terminal, while the Flamingos arrived through the international terminal where airport officials and other passengers freely welcomed and celebrated them, taking pictures and dancing with them.

The Commission said Obi was never captured anywhere near the team or the vicinity of the international wing. It took strong exception to his decision to present the episode as evidence of political intimidation without first seeking clarification from the Nigeria Football Federation or the Commission, and urged him to reflect and offer an unreserved apology to the young girls for dragging their moment of glory into controversy.

Dikko stressed that the Flamingos are minors with a dedicated safeguarding official in the technical crew, and their welfare, dignity and protection from undue pressure must remain central to every engagement.

He said the players must not be used to suggest allegiance to any political party, a rule that applies equally to public officials, political figures and other members of the public. 

He invited Obi and any other Nigerian who wishes to meet or host the team to contact the NFF or NSC with a formal request so suitable arrangements can be made around the team’s programme and welfare.

The Chairman also dismissed Obi’s other claim that he was prevented from visiting the Super Eagles in the dressing room after the World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe on March 25, 2025 in Uyo.

Dikko said he sat on the same row as Obi and other governors at the match, and that after the unfavourable result, the players themselves declined to receive any visitors as they wanted to hold a soul-searching meeting. 

He added that the match was a FIFA match governed by strict protocol, with a FIFA security official controlling access to technical areas, and that a breach could attract fines or a stadium ban. 

He concluded that football is a national asset that brings Nigerians together across ethnic, religious and political differences, and the Flamingos’ victory must strengthen unity, not division.