The Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Hon. Bukola Olopade, has strongly faulted former Anambra State Governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over his claim that Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officials prevented him from greeting the victorious Flamingos at the Abuja airport.

Olopade questioned Obi’s account of the incident, describing the former governor as a “pathological liar” and insisting that the circumstances surrounding the team’s arrival made it impossible for him to have seen the players at the airport.

According to the NSC boss, the Flamingos arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at approximately 5:30 a.m., when it was still dark and domestic flight check-in activities had yet to commence.

He argued that Obi, who said he was at the domestic terminal preparing to board an Enugu-bound flight, could not have seen the players from his location.

“The plane landed at 5:30 a.m. It was still very dark. No local flight was checking in at that time. Even if they were checking in, there was no way Obi would have seen those children from where he was at the local airport,” Olopade said.

He further explained that the players completed immigration procedures and exited through the international terminal’s underground exit, maintaining that the airport's layout contradicted Obi's account.

Olopade also challenged the former governor's claim of a similar experience during Nigeria's FIFA World Cup qualifier in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on March 25, 2025.

He maintained that access to players during FIFA-organised matches is governed by established protocols, stressing that no individual, irrespective of political status, could simply approach players in their dressing room without following the required procedures.

“In Uyo, for those who know FIFA-organised matches, you cannot say because you are Obi or anyone else, you want to go and see the players in their dressing room. There are protocols,” he said.

The NSC Director-General also accused Obi of contradicting his advocacy for orderliness and good governance.

“This is a man who says he wants to govern on orderliness, yet he is being disorderly,” he added.

Olopade cautioned against dragging politics into the Flamingos' historic achievement, insisting that the controversy should not distract from the players' success at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Morocco.

“We should stop all this nonsense. Everything should not be about politics. He cannot take away the shine and glory of these girls,” he said.

Obi had, in a statement issued on Monday titled, “A New Dimension of Toxic Politics in Nigeria,” accused NFF officials of preventing him from welcoming the Flamingos following their return from Morocco, where they won the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.

The former governor said he arrived at the Abuja airport at about 7 a.m. to board a flight to Enugu when he noticed the returning players.

He explained that he instructed his Protocol Officer, Jackie Wayas, to find out whether he could greet the team but was subsequently informed that NFF officials had objected to his approaching the players.

“I was informed that officials of the Nigerian Football Federation had refused and had requested that I not approach,” Obi said.

He also recalled the alleged incident in Uyo on March 25, 2025, claiming that he was prevented from greeting the Super Eagles after a World Cup qualifier despite having been welcomed by the state governor at the VIP stand.

Obi described both experiences as examples of what he termed “toxic politics” and expressed concern over what he considers a worsening political climate in Nigeria since 2025.