Guardian Nigeria
Sports Minister, Senator John Owan Enoh, has vowed never to fall to blackmail by those trying to use unnecessary antics to distract him from achieving his goals, particularly, in the build up to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Enoh told The Guardian in a telephone conversation on Friday evening that his major priority at the moment is to lead Team Nigeria to break the barrier of long wait for an Olympics gold medal in Paris.
“It is sad that the Chairman House Committee on Sports, Hon. Ekene Adams, is somewhere trying to use unnecessary antics and blackmail to distract my attention, but I won’t fall to it,” he said.
Giving a clearer picture of what transpired between the Sports minister and the lawmaker, the Director and Head, Press and Public Relations Unit in the Ministry of Sports development, Kehinde Ajayi, said in statement made available to The Guardian that it was wrong for Adams to mischievously accuse Enoh of insincerity in the handling of N12billion intervention fund released by President Bola Tinubu earlier this year.
Adams, a member representing Chkun/Kajuru Federal Constituency at the National Assembly had, in the early hours of Friday, accused Enoh of insincerity with the development of sports.
Ajayi said: “Hon. Adams attempt to push his strange narrative. He had asked why should the Sports Minister still allocate budget for the renovation of and maintenance of the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in the 2024 budget after the stadium had been handed over to the Kaduna State government. In yet another publication, he also accused the Sports Minister of opaqueness in the disbursement of FG’s N12 billion Intervention Fund.
“After going through this self-serving news report, which is at best hollow, unfounded, and bereft of fact(s), it would appear that Hon. Adams takes for granted, the burden of the high office he presently occupies on behalf of his constituents and the responsibility that comes with it.
“Having acted in such an undignified and un-parliamentary manner in the pursuit of his personal vendetta, our fear is that this sad commentary has the consequence of bringing to public odium and ridicule, the image of the legislature as an institution. This is sad.
“It is a common knowledge that Hon. Adams has been sick and indisposed since the beginning of this administration; he is at best, the Chairman of the House Committee on Sports in abstentia having to spend a lot of time in hospital taking care of his health. The Honourable Minister of Sports Development has had to visit him in his sick bed in the hospital at some point. He didn’t have to do this. As a result of this reality, it is safe to conclude that Hon Ekene is out of touch with reality and therefore incompetent to make an informed comment and fully appreciate the ongoing raft of reforms in the sports sector under the guidance and leadership of the Minister of Sports Development.”
Ajayi further carpeted the lawmaker, saying: “The instance wherein Hon. Adams said: Why should the Minister still allocate budget for the renovation and maintenance of the Ahmadu Bello stadium in the 2024 budget after the stadium had been handed over to the Kaduna State Government”, is a clear demonstration of his ignorance of the state of affairs within the sports sector and how out of touch he is. For the avoidance of doubt and to set the record straight, no budgetary provision was made for the renovation and maintenance of Ahmadu Bello Stadium in the 2024 appropriation. If such a provision was made, it would still constitute an indictment on the Committee on Sports he chairs whose duty it is to scrutinise the budget before passage.
“The allegation of opaqueness in the disbursement of the N12 billion Federal Government’s Intervention Fund by the Ministry is spurious and untrue. He should have known that, although the entire money was released to the Ministry of Sports account, at the Honourable Minister’s directive, the entire sum was fully transferred to the account of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the appropriate body that incurred the outstanding debts, and this can be verified. Everyone in both the Ministry and the sector acknowledged and applauded this move as an uncommon display of transparency. Hon. Adams’ allegation of opaqueness is therefore founded on avoidable ignorance and/or mischief. Given the channels of communication the Minister already established with his committee, it would have been easy for Hon. Adams to seek and get clarification if only he wanted to play fair and in good faith.”
Ajayi stated that the Sports Minister will continue to resist attempts by forces propelled by selfish interest who will stop at nothing including the deployment of lies and campaign of calumny to have their way.
