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Nigeria Sacks Minister Of Sports

By African Outlook Reporter

President Goodluck Jonathan has terminated the appointment of the Minister of Sports, Yusuf Suleiman with immediate effect.





A statement from the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Doctor Reuben Abati says this is to afford him the opportunity to focus fully on the pursuit of his declared political ambition

President Jonathan thanked the former Minister for his services to the nation and wished him success in his future endeavor

The former sports minister is said to be keen on becoming the next governor of Sokoto state.

Many sports analysts however believe the Minister may have been relieved of his duty owing to the poor performances of all the Nigeria's national teams in international competitions.

The Nigeria's Super Eagles failed to qualify for the nations cup final and the Under-23 national team are still struggling to qualify for the Olympic finals in the on-going 2012 Olympic qualification tournament in Morroco.

The Nigerian could be playing their last game in Morocco when they face Algeria in Marrakech on Friday.

The Nigerian team suffered back-to-back defeats to Morocco (0-1) and Senegal (1-2) and now bank on a mathematical chance of progressing to the semifinals at the Caf Under-23 Championship.

All the Group A teams - Morocco, Algeria, Senegal and Nigeria - stand a chance to reach the last four based on a series of permutations.

However, Nigeria's chance of progress depends on two scenarios - beating Algeria by at least 3-0 or a three-goal margin of any kind while Morocco defeat Senegal by any one-goal margin.