Government waiting for LMC’s report to host League champions, says Dalung

‘ Ministry will no longer sponsor candidates for federations’ polls’
Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, has disclosed that he is waiting for the League Management Company’s (LMC) 2015/2016 season’s final report for the Federal Government to host the champions at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
 
Dalung told journalists aboard an Arik airline flight from Ndola, Zambia, to Abuja on Sunday night that the federal government would host the champions as a way of encouraging other teams to work hard for success, adding, however, that he was still waiting for the final report to get the process going.
 
Enugu Rangers won the 2015/2016 Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) to equal the seven titles record held by Enyimba of Aba. The victory is also the Enugu club’s first title in 32 years, as the last time they won the old Division One crown was in 1984.

“The LMC seems not to know that they are supposed to present their final report on how they organised the league and the outcome to me. They did not even invite to the final game of the season.
 
“It is only when they submit their final report that I can take it to the president and then we will plan how to host the winners,” he said.

The minister also revealed that the Federal Government would no longer sponsor candidates to the federations’ elections, saying that the ministry was working to make the bodies more productive.
 
Speaking on the backdrop of the allegations that some board members were only interested in feathering their nests with the associations and in the in fighting in some of the federations, Dalung said henceforth only those with genuine intention to serve Nigerian sports would be encouraged to join the federations’ boards.
 
“We will the leave elections into the federations to the stakeholders instead of imposing candidates on them. We are also going to ensure that only those who will work for the country get into the boards and not those there only to sell athletes.
 
“As we speak, we are aware that some people want to sell some of our upcoming talented athletes to Bahrain. Some of our athletes running for other countries were sold to those countries by certain federations’ members, who were elected to help develop Nigerian sports. That must stop,” Dalung said.