The Federal Government has accused the Confederation of African Football (CAF) of arm-twisting Nigeria into playing the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Libya, despite the country’s treatment of the Super Eagles.
The Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, revealed that CAF President Patrice Motsepe and Secretary-General Mosengo Omba have been mounting pressure on Nigeria to proceed with the match, scheduled for Tuesday.
Enoh disclosed the details of his conversation with CAF officials on his X account.
“This morning, I was on a conference call with CAF President and CAF Secretary General,” he tweeted.
“While the CAF President’s concern seems to be what to do to get the national team to participate in tomorrow’s match, I have instead informed CAF that the concern of the Government and people of Nigeria is first, the safety of the team and their safe return, urging that CAF should focus on working with us to achieve this.”
The Super Eagles were held at the Al Abraq Airport in Libya for over 15 hours upon their arrival, prompting them to pull out of the game.
Enoh said that there must be serious consequences for Libya’s “unspeakable behavior.”
“This cannot be through insisting that Nigeria still takes part in this match given the very obvious situation,” he added.
