Former Anambra State governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi has accused officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) of preventing him from meeting the country’s Under-17 women’s football team, the Flamingos, at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
The players returned in the early hours of Monday after winning the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco. Obi said he arrived at the airport around 7 a.m. to board a flight to Enugu when he saw the team preparing to leave.
“I arrived at the airport at 7 a.m. this morning to board my flight to Enugu. There, I saw the Nigeria Under-17 girls’ team, which had just arrived and was preparing to board its vehicle into town,” Obi said in a statement.
He added: “With genuine joy and enthusiasm, I asked my Protocol Officer, Jackie Wayas, to find out whether I could greet and welcome the team. I was informed that officials of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) had refused and had requested that I not approach them because, if I did, they would all lose their jobs.”
Obi described the incident as another example of “toxic politics” and recalled a similar experience during a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Uyo on March 25, 2025, when he was also prevented from greeting the national team.
“Following the match, other government officials went to greet the players, but I was again prevented from doing so. I was told by the officials that they would lose their jobs if I proceeded,” he said.
He said it was “deeply troubling to witness the extent of toxic politics into which our nation has descended since 2015.”
“The new Nigeria we aspire to build must have no room for hostility, intimidation, or discrimination, regardless of political affiliation,” Obi said. “It must be a Nigeria in which unity, mutual respect, and our shared humanity take precedence over political differences.”
