The Federal Government on Thursday inaugurated an investigative committee to unravel the circumstances leading to the vandalization of the Moshood Abiola Stadium and recommend measures to forestall recurrence.

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare while inaugurating the committee led by DIG Sanni Mohammed (Retd) noted that while the failure of Nigeria to qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup is not only regrettable but also left millions of football loving Nigerians unhappy and angry, making them to ask for changes, it is not enough to condone the acts of vandalism and destruction of public infrastructure like the Moshood Abiola Stadium, built with tax payers money and the benevolence of private individuals.

“The Federal Government will not sit by and allow individuals, no matter their ages to just wilfully damage and destroy Federal Government Infrastructure especially a public infrastructure like the Moshood Abiola National Stadium. Therefore, this afternoon, I want to inaugurate this committee on the acts of vandalism and destruction of the Stadium. This committee will have two weeks to conclude its assignment and submit its report.

“It is an investigative committee and they will be given necessary access to the stadium, they will be provided with the CCTV footage, they will have access to every relevant person connected with the football match and also the Ministry, Nigeria Football Federation(NFF)and other relevant agencies,” the Minister added.

The terms of reference of the Committee include unraveling the remote and immediate causes of the incident; determine the extent of the destruction; investigate the security arrangement and the role of security generally; identify the culprits; identify victims where we have them; make recommendations on how to prevent future occurrence, not just for the Moshood Abiola Stadium but all stadia across the country in terms of crowd control after the games, amongst others.

In his response, the Chairman of the Committee, DIG Mohammed(Retd)thanked the Minister for finding members of the committee worthy of the national assignment, promising they will discharge their responsibilities without fear or favour, and assist the nation to prevent a recurrence of the unfortunate incident.

Other members of the investigative committee are Dr Henry Nzekwu(vice chairman), Commodore Omatseye Nesiama(Retd), Alhaji Abba Yola, Dr Simon Ebhojiaye, Mrs Tayo Oreweme, Mr Mitchell Obi, a representative of the Director General of the Department of State Security(DSS) and Mr Olumide Bamiduro, who will be the secretary.

The committee has two weeks to turn in their report.

Nigeria Pillar Of Sports Chief Donatus Agu Ejidike has donated 2000 tickets for fans to watch Nigeria vs Ghana 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup playoffs scheduled for Tuesday March 29, 2022.

Ejidike who has remained a sports enthusiast and philanthropist said he decided to demonstrate the gesture as a way of encouraging Super Eagles to conquer Ghana and pick another World Cup ticket.

He then urged fans to come out in their large numbers to support the Nigeria’s senior men’s national team in the crucial game.

“At this crucial time, all Super Eagles desire is support from all of us till the last minute of their second leg encounter with the black stars of Ghana.

“I urge the football loving Nigerians to rally round them by coming out massively to watch the match at the stadium,” he said.

He also advised the Nigerian team to do everything possible to secure the crucial 2022 Qatar World Cup ticket and put smiles on the face

In a bid to get more fans and supporters for the Super Eagles in their FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Black Stars of Ghana, the Federal Government has declared Tuesday March 28, 2022 as half work day.

This was contained in a circular issued by the Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare from Office of Head of Service of the federation, Dr Ngozi Onwudiwe to all government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs.

The statement reads:

‘As you are aware,the Super Eagles of Nigeria will be meeting the Black Stars of Ghana in continuation of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers play offs (return leg).

‘There is a need to mobilize support for the Nigerian team, consequently,I am directed to inform you that all offices will be closed by 1pm on Tuesday 29th March 2022.’

The Super Eagles will take on Ghana by 6pm in Tuesday at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja.

Recall both sides played a goaless draw in the first leg last Friday in Kumasi.

The Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has praised the Super Eagles after they held Black Stars of Ghana to a goalless draw, in their 2022 World Cup qualifying playoff first leg in Kumasi.

The Eagles battled their host to a stalemate in front of a over 50,000 home fans inside the Baba Yara Stadium on Friday.

Reacting to the result, Kalu urged the Eagles to make sure the clinch the World Cup ticket in the second leg.

“It was not a bad performance from our boys yesterday. Well done, Super Eagles! Our focus should be the next game here in Abuja. It is a must win for us to be in Qatar. I wish the team all the best,” he wrote on facebook.

The second leg comes up inside the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja on Tuesday.

Nigeria and Ghana neutralized each other in a high-tempo, no-catching-your-breath, heart-thumping World Cup playoff, first leg encounter inside a tumultuous Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi on Friday.

There was a lot of running and cheer-drawing nutmegs, but goalkeepers Francis Uzoho and Joseph Wollacott shared only few saves between them in the opening leg of a 180-minute decider for a ticket to the 22^nd FIFA World Cup finals.

The iconic Baba Yara Stadium, packed to the rafters, erupted each time the white-clad Black Stars went on the onslaught, but lack of productivity ensured the high-decibel support diminished steadily as time climbed on the scoreboard.

The impressive Mohammed Kudus, Abdul Fatawu, Baba Idrissu and stand-in captain Thomas Partey showed desperation to put Ghana ahead early in the game, but met stiff resistance from Leon Balogun, William Ekong and Zaidu Sanusi.

In the 6^th minute, Kelechi Iheanacho very nearly caught an adventurous Wollacott off his line from a 25-yard free kick, before Balogun manfully thwarted an advancing Fatawu as he bore down on goal in the 15^th minute.

The Black Stars were luminous in the first quarter hour in Ghana’s second city, but once Sanusi cleverly stepped past two persons and his pull-out was only a bit too high for Osimhen, it became a somewhat level-playing field.

In the 33^rd minute, Uzoho underscored his agility when Fatawu, at the end of a counter, unleashed a scorcing shot. Four minutes later, Osimhen failed to get enough purchase on his shot. Nigeria’s best chance of the half came in the 41^st minute, when the ball fell nicely to Joseph Ayodele-Aribo, but he lifted the ball a bit too high. Just before the break, Ekong had to come to the rescue as Kudus set up Alex Djiku.

In the second half, Wollacott had to be alert to save from Simon who got himself into a good shooting position, and at the other end in the 66^th, Suleman Abdulmumin flighted the ball too high. Uzoho parried from Kudus and Ghana came close from a corner kick but in the 76^th minute, Nigeria thought they had won a penalty after substitute Oghenekaro Etebo’s pass was scooped by Gideon Mensah. But after a VAR cheque, Moroccan referee Rédouane Jiyed annulled his own decision.

Both teams clash in the final 90 minutes of the fixture at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, starting from 6pm on Tuesday. The Nigerian delegation to the match in Kumasi returned to Abuja on Saturday morning

Nigeria’s U20 Boys, Flying Eagles will seek a place in the semi finals of the ongoing WAFU B U20 Tournament in Porto Novo on Wednesday when they confront West African arch rivals, Ghana’s Black Satellites at the Stade Charles de Gaulles.

With only three teams in Group B and having drawn their first tie against Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday, the seven-time African champions require a win to avoid any unforeseen circumstances to advance to the knock-out rounds.

Chris Nwaeze had given the Flying Eagles the lead in the 61^st minute against the Ivorians but then got sent off for a second bookable offence as Nigeria conceded a late equalizer to drop two points. Nwaeze will play no part in Wednesday’s encounter.

Head Coach Ladan Bosso is upbeat about the chances of his wards, saying the lessons learnt from the opening clash would be put to good use against the illustrious opponents. “I thought we did enough to pick up the three points against the Ivorians but we lost concentration towards the tail end of the game and were punished for it.

“We controlled the game for most parts and should have won but the red card destabilised my boys and put us out of sync tactically. The clash with Ghana will be tough but we are ready. The boys understand what is at stake and I have confidence they will do the nation proud. Our target here remains the same: winning the tournament and qualifying for the CAF U20 Cup of Nations in Mauritania.”

Mike Zaruma, who captained the team against the Ivorians, echoed Coach Bosso’s optimism. “Taking only one point from the tie with the Ivorians was a tough one because we played better and created more chances to win the game. We felt disappointed but that is behind us now and Ghana is the focus. We know that we must win to enhance our chances of reaching the knockout stage.

“I believe in what we can do as a team. We are ready to pick the three points against Ghana in order to make Nigerians happy.”