Former Minister of Sports and Chairman National Sports Com­mission (NSC), Mallam Bolaji Abdulahi, has assured Nigerians the President-elect, Gen Mohammadu Buhari (Rtd) will not interfere in the administration of Nigerian sports like his predecessor, President Goodluck Jonathan.

Fielding questions from the media at the International Con­ference Centre (ICC) in Abuja where he joined the dignitaries that led the President-elect to collect Certificate of Return, Abdullahi reassured the admin­istrators of Nigerian sports of a free hand to run the game under the administration of Buhari to use their own initiative to devel­op and implement policies that would move the sports sector to greater heights in line with the aspirations of the government.

Abdulahi further noted that unlike the outgoing government, the administration of Buhari will have no reason to interfere in the implementation of sports poli­cies, stressing that he would be too busy with other pressing is­sues after assigning a competent person to man the ministry.

“I believe that the problem that sports had under the out-going administration is that there was no desire to allow objective implementation of policy. There was too much meddlesomeness at the political level.

“People who should not be getting involved were coming in and there was interference with the way things should be done. I can assure you that you are not likely to get that under this administration.

“That is quite significant because the manner of his emergence has also shown that the power of democracy has come to the people of Nigeria. Now it is the people of Nigeria that will determine what the government will do and not the other way round, that is quite significant,” Abdullahi noted.

Asked the possibility of his returning to man the ministry, the former Minister argued that it would be his choice to decide on accepting or rejecting the offer if he is assigned to the position again, arguing that he has done his bit in that sector and would want to move on.

Abdulahi, who regretted that sports suffered interference and impositions under the outgo­ing administration, noted that lack of desire to implement objective policies which ac­cording to him was responsible for the meddlesomeness at the political level of the sector, negatively affected sports development.

Though I like Bolaji Abdullahi's work as sports minister under Jonathan, I think he is just trying to make himself get the job again. This is sycophancy of the highest order.Didn't he and president Jonathan meddle in the affairs of the NFF? We know he is the next sports minister but he shouldn't play on our intelligence.