Minister of Youth and Sport, Solomon Dalung has said that those accusing him of playing the ethnic card in the ongoing leadership crisis in Nigeria football have not been fair to him, saying his only interest is the development of Nigerian football.
Speaking with newsmen while on a visit to the National Secretariat of the APC on Monday, the Minister said the fact that Chris Giwa is from the same state with him does not mean he is supporting his action against the Nigeria Football Federation.
“I think those who hold such position believe that I am from Plateau, and Giwa is from Plateau I would not have done anything to the contrary. But I think is also an unfair assessment of the situation,” he said.
“There are courts sitting in Jos, judges are Plateau people and they decide issues affecting Plateau and they have been deciding it against them. So I don’t think because I am a Plateau man and Giwa is from Plateau and he has an issue then I should be supporting him.
“More so, this crisis started over two years ago, long before I came on board: could it have been me that supported Giwa to go to court? Or could it still be me who encourage the state to arrest people during their convention that led to the disqualification.
“Could it have also be me that gave him money to go to court the first time? All these questions go to answer that weak assumptions that I am supporting Giwa. But I think what I am supporting is football, I stand for football and for Nigeria.
“I have asked that all this fighting, how does football gain and the answer is no. It is a personality feuding over leadership, but I am interested in football not in leadership and my mandate is to build football, they are to help me, assist me make progress.
“So if they are fighting and I abandon the job that I am supposed to do to help me to do my job would I go and support them to continue fighting so that my job would not be achieve? I think that thinking is very weak. to help football
“The development in the football industry is unfortunate, especially the leadership tussle. Personally I had initially wanted to avert the situation we found ourselves when I initiated earlier dialogue, which advanced progressively, but however, was inconclusive because of lack of cooperation from the both parties.
“But so far so good, I think where we are now is a bit delicate. We are between the devil and the deep blue sea. On the one hand we are confronting decision of our own court and on other hand, we are facing the threat of sanctions for adopting the rules of international association.
“But I think in my mind that the best way out of it is that we must be able to come together and plan to mitigate the winner-take-all syndrome. I have been emphasising this so many times that the first republic collapses because of the winner takes all.
“Both leaders must shift position from their current extreme position to a mid-way in the interest of football and in the interest of the nation. They must appreciate the fact that yes, even if their exhibition of charisma they would have overstretched it, there is a need for them to narrow their differences and summit especially to the voice of reasoning, so that we can make progress.
“I have set up a seven-man advisory committee, and from the briefings I got they would start sitting today. They have invited so many stakeholders in the football industry to interact with them.
“Some of them have worked with Fifa, some of them are working with Fifa. I brought them together, so that we can benefit from their experiences. I think, by the end of two weeks, when I receive their report, there would be sufficient advise in the way forward.”