Gbolagade Adelowo Named NPFL 23/24 Player Of The Season After Shooting Stars’ Victory Over Sporting Lagos
By Lovette Ochicha - June 23, 2024
Gbolagade Adelowo earned the NPFL Player of the season award as the NPFL season concluded with a thrilling 1-0 victory for Shooting Stars over Sporting Lagos at the Adamasingba Stadium.
Gbolagade Adelowo being named the NPFL 23/24 Player of the Season, was the highlight of the season a testament to his outstanding performance throughout the campaign.
Adelowo played all 38 matches in what was his debut season in the Premier League. Reflecting on the season, he expressed gratitude for the opportunity and the strength that allowed him to consistently perform at a high level.
Speaking on his motivation and consistent performance throughout the season, Adelowo told Sports 247, “Well, by the grace of God, I want to thank God for the strength and energy given to me.
I want to thank God for the privilege. Because, if you look at our team, the people playing on my wing at centre-back, they are older than me, they have the experience.
No disrespect to them, I give them respect. They are my senior men, they are my big bros. I want to thank them for their support, and their words of encouragement given to me.
Their words of encouragement make me move and keep on going. Do you understand? But, I want to thank God for everything. The team, the coaches, the fans for the belief in me.”
Despite Shooting Stars not securing the desired continental tickets, Adelowo remains positive about the team’s efforts and achievements.
Throughout the season, Adelowo’s motivation and consistency were evident. He credited his strength and energy to divine support and acknowledged the encouragement and support from his older and more experienced teammates.
This camaraderie and mentorship played a significant role in his success, pushing him to excel week after week.
Although missing out on continental tickets was a setback, Adelowo is not disappointed. He recognizes the unpredictable nature of the league and remains optimistic about the future.
His focus is on working harder and achieving better results in the next season, trusting that with continued effort, success will come.
Looking ahead, Adelowo is taking a humble approach, placing his future in God’s hands. His humility and dedication have earned him not only the Player of the Season award but also widespread respect and admiration from fans, teammates, and opponents alike.
As Shooting Stars prepare for the upcoming season, they can rely on the leadership and skill of Gbolagade Adelowo, who has proven himself to be a key player and an inspiration to the team.
As the 2023-24 Nigeria Premier Football League ended on Sunday, ABIODUN ADEWALE reports on achievements, disappointments and near misses of the league after 38 rounds of matches
WINNERS
Rangers crowned champions
Enugu Rangers were crowned champions of the Nigeria Premier Football League for the eighth time in their history on Sunday and they capped their season with a 2-1 away win against Gombe United at the New Jos Stadium.
The league champions were welcomed into the mainbowl of the New Jos Stadium with a guard of honour by their relegated opponents and general manager of Rangers, Amobi Ezeaku captained the Flying Antelopes for his second appearance in the league.
Fidelis Ilechukwu’s men were off to a flying start with two goals inside seven minutes courtesy of Kazeem Ogunleye and Godwin Obaje. Anas Hassan pulled one back for the Savannah Scorpions but the Flying Antelopes didn’t feel the sting, holding on to their lead and winning the title by five points.
Enugu Rangers had sealed the league title last week and ended the season with 70 points.
Remo and Enyimba continental tickets
With the title already settled before the final day, second-placed Remo Stars and third-placed Enyimba still found themselves in must-win situations to seal their place in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup respectively next season.
In Ikenne, Remo took their destiny into their hands against Katsina United winning 2-1 to seal the second spot and a continental ticket for the third time in their history.
The league’s top assist provider and newly capped Super Eagles defender, Sodiq Ismail waited till the last day of the season to get a goal of his own for Remo’s opener before Dayo Ojo doubled the advantage.
Former champions Enyimba however left it late in Aba as an 78th minute goal from Chijioke Mbaoma plus another from Alade Balogun in the 88th minute saw them beat Plateau United 2-0.
Were they held to a goalless draw, the third spot and the CAF Confederation Cup ticket would have gone to 3SC who beat Sporting Lagos 1-0 in Ibadan.
Mbaoma wins Eunisell Golden Boot
Enyimba striker Chijioke Mbaoma can see himself as N3.4m richer for winning the NPFL Eunisell Golden Boot with 17 goals. Each goal is valued by the sponsors at N200,000.
Before the final day, he led the goal chart with 16 goals, one more than Remo Stars’ Sikiru Alimi and he added one more on Sunday to steer clear of his challenger who failed to score.
The bullish striker started the season slowly, scoring just twice in his first 10 appearances but he added more as soon as he broke his duck.
Mbaoma succeeds his former Enyimba teammate, Emeka Obioma as the winner of the award.
Safe hands Obasogie
Despite Bendel Insurance’s unimpressive performance this season, their goalkeeper Amas Obasogie was head and shoulder above other goalkeepers in the league with 18 clean sheets. He had three more than Kayode Bankole of Remo Stars and Kingdom Osayi of Doma United who both had 15. Title challengers last season with an unprecedented 21-game unbeaten record in the league, the Benin Arsenal finished the 2023/24 season in ninth position with 53 points.
Bayelsa United, Akwa United survive
Former champions Bayelsa United and Akwa United survived relegation on the final.
Winners in 2009, Bayelsa United defeated Bendel Insurance 2-0 in Benin City to move up to 15th in the table with 50 points.
2021 champions, Akwa United also recorded a 3-1 win over Rivers United at home to end the season with 49 points in 16th position.
For all their woes throughout the season, both teams earned the right to be called winners by retaining their NPFL status on the final day.
Sporting Lagos back to NNL
Just one season in the NPFL, Sporting Lagos are back in the Nigeria National League, the second tier. They were doomed for relegation after a 1-0 defeat against 3SC in Ibadan.
They needed a win against the Oluyole Warriors to be sure of their safety but that would not have been enough, considering other results which saw Bayelsa United and Akwa United record wins.
The Lagos club started the season under manager Paul Offor, but he was sacked with eight games remaining in the league while they were 13th in the table.
Sacking Offor didn’t prove right eventually as new coach Abdullahi Biffo could not ensure their safety, losing four, drawing two and winning only two of their final matches, leaving them 17th in the table with 46 points.
Doma doomed
From finishing the first half of the season in third place to being the team with the longest streak of matches without conceding a goal this season (nine), Doma United, unfortunately, find themselves back in the second tier.
They ended the campaign with a 1-1 home draw against Abia Warriors and winless in their last five matches. Their fortunes began to dwindle in January, losing 12 matches plus seven draws and just three wins.
In their two seasons in the NPFL, the Savannah Scorpions and their fans in Gombe will relish their first campaign where they almost made the NPFL Super 6 playoffs.
The other relegated teams are Heartland and Gombe United.
3SC late resurgence not enough
Five-time Nigerian champions Shooting Stars would have been among the winners of the season, but agonizingly missing out on a continental ticket on the final day is as bad as losing.
The Oluyole Warriors ended the season with 62 points in fourth position, just a point behind Enyimba.
IAMBOSS1990: Congratulations to them all, but how come it's the guy with just 2 goals and 2 assists that becomes player of season?
There are many positions in a football team. It's the job of attackers to score goals, it's the job of midfielders to provide assists, it's the job of defenders to stop attackers and it's the job of goalkeepers to stop goals.
Gbolagade Adelowo is a central defender.
How many goals and assists did Fabio Cannavaro provide when he won Ballon d'Or and FIFA player of the year?
There are many positions in a football team. It's the job of attackers to score goals, it's the job of midfielders to provide assists, it's the job of defenders to stop attackers and it's the job of goalkeepers to stop goals.
Gbolagade Adelowo is a central defender.
How many goals and assists did Fabio Cannavaro provide when he won Ballon d'Or and FIFA player of the year?
@NFFC striker Taiwo Awoniyi & CEO of Hairsense Ahmad Lawal have both been applauded over their monetary support after our victory 🆚 @heartlandFC. Awoniyi who was at the stands promised to reward each goal with the sum of ₦500,000 before kickoff.
I’m nothing without God ,God did it n forever grateful for his grace n mercy upon my life n my career big thanks to my teammates n shooting stars fans for their love n support , encouragement u guys are the best
Clubs are being encouraged to adopt women's football teams and Rangers International of Enugu has announced a partnership with Green Foot Women's Football Club of Enugu.
There are many reasons why I remember the Southern Governors Forum meetings of the early 2000s. Of course there's the fact that it was always in the news and I always know what's in the news. There's also the fact that it was one of the tools that was used to fight the onshore-offshore dichotomy battles (some people might have forgotten about that), but there's a very random reason why I remember the meetings. It's about a motorcade.
(Interestingly I'm still trying to find the time to complete my post about some motorcades that I saw in the early 1980s).
I was on Third Mainland Bridge and heading towards the Island when I saw a strange thing. It was a lone police motorcycle that had its siren on. This was quite strange. The only time that you'd see police motorcycles with their sirens blaring (at that time) was when they were leading a motorcade, yet here was a solitary police motorcycle with its sirens blaring. Most vehicles around simply ignored the motorcycle.
It was some time before even more police motorcycles went past. I was near the Adeniji Adele exit by this time. This made more sense. There were around 3 motorcycles and a pilot car was close behind them. Then I soon realised why everything initially seemed strange. There were around 4 governors (each in his official car), including the Lagos State governor, in that motorcade and it was longer than usual. All the vehicles on Ring Road had to park to allow them go past.
This occurred during one of the Southern Governors Forum meetings. It was only after I saw the plate numbers of the governors' cars that I remembered that I had read about the meeting in the newspapers.
I wish I could remember the year that this happened.
lexy2014: You claimed that mandax comments on nairaland prevents Nigeria from adopting the resolution of the governors. How does the 2022 information and the link you shared prove that mandax prevented Nigeria from adopting the resolution of the governors?
There's a little error in this article. The first meeting was held in 2000, not 2001 and the last meeting before the break was in Lagos in 2005.
When Southern governors gathered in Lagos
October 25, 2017
A summit of Nigeria’s Southern governors convened in Lagos for the first time in 13 years was buoyed by the determination of the summiteers to look beyond tribe, tongue and political affiliation to the issues that limit the expression of their autonomy within the context of the Nigerian federation.
By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor
Last Monday’s summit was the first gathering of governors from the former Southern Nigeria in 12 years.
Divided by culture and tribe but united by geographical positioning the 17 states from Nigeria’s southern region have for the most part trudged different paths.
It is that character that has made the states of the south seeming preys and partners with the more politically sophisticated Northern political elites who have at different political dispensations remained in power by oscillating political favours between different geographical sections of the south.
Unlike the North, the South after the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern provinces of the country in 1914 was divided into two political regions, the Western and Eastern Regions leading to divergent political experiences.
Through the period of colonization and into independence, the North sustained a similar political and geographical identity that was only broken up in 1966. Even after that till now, the North has continued to share political, economic and cultural philosophies. Governors of the 19 Northern States also hold regular meetings in Kaduna where issues of common interest are shared.
The first time the Southern governors met was in 2001 in Lagos under the auspices of the former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The last of the meetings was in 2005 in Enugu where Governor Chimaroke Nnamani hosted the Southern governors.
That meeting was shadowed by insinuations that it was a cover for the affirmation of the much controversial Third Term amendment of the Constitution to allow governors and the president a third term in office.
Since then governors from the South have walked different political and economic paths. However, regional meetings of South-South, Southeast, and Southwest governors have progressed. Moving along different paths, it was not difficult for the governors and their people to recognize that they could do little in the face of increasing pressures for the political restructuring of the country.
It was in the face of this that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode hosted fellow governors from the South on a one day summit.
Devolution of powers
All but one governor that is Owelle Rochas Okorocha, the governor of Imo State were present or represented.
Those present besides the host, Ambode were governors of Ogun, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; Oyo, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Ebonyi, David Umahi; Edo, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; Ondo, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu; Abia, Mr. Okezie Ikpeazu; Enugu, Mr. Henry Ugwuanyi; Bayelsa, Mr. Seriaki Dickson and Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose.
Governors of Cross River, Anambra, and Delta, were represented by their Deputies – Mr. Evara Esu; Dr. Ikem Okeke and Mr. Kingsley Otuaru respectively.
Once the governors gathered for their meeting last Monday common issues bothering them came to the fore.
Sources at the meeting told Vanguard that once Governor Ambode gave his welcome address, he was immediately followed by Governor Emmanuel who as chairman of the South-South governors served as co-host.
Among the others who spoke that day were Governors Aregbesola, Umahi and Ayade and a common trend in their assertions was the need for restructuring or devolution of powers back to the states.
The governors were particularly peeved that though Nigeria presents itself as a federation of states but that the country has been run more or less as a unitary state with the Federal Government acting like a big bully.
The governor added: “States are disparaged for always carrying begging bowls to Abuja in quest of hand-outs from the Federal Government.
This is a function of our present national constitution that burdens the Federal Government with activities and responsibilities that rightly fall within the province of states.
“The productivity and revenue-generating capacities of most states are thus stifled, thus turning them into no better than street beggar states incapable of even meeting routine obligations of paying workers’ salaries and pensions without federal support.”
As Governor Ambode noted, Lagos State had since the advent of the Fourth Republic been at the forefront in the advocacy for the expression of true federalism.
The state has been in and out of the courts and taken painful stands in the defence of its rights as an autonomous part of the Nigerian federation.
The choice of Lagos as the host or as convener of the summit was not totally shocking given the leading role of the state in the fight for the autonomy of the states. Among the landmark cases the state won that helped to define the country’s federation as Ambode recalled last Monday were the legal control over the management of its environment, the control of urban and physical planning, the regulation of overhead masts, the registration and regulation of hotels and restaurants, and the control of inland waterways.
These victories he noted were aimed at consolidating the rights of not just Lagos, but all 36 states as semi-autonomous parts of the Nigerian federation.
Remarkably, some of the key victories won during the stewardship of Governor Tinubu were articulated by his attorney general and commissioner for justice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo who is today, the vice-president of the country.
Indeed, some would love to see how Osinbajo would marshal the arguments he used to win some of those landmark cases to limit the power and influence of the Federal Government now that he is seated as the country’s number two citizen.
Power and influence
Given that the issues of concern were straightforward, the governors did not find it difficult to reach a communiqué which was read out by the host after about a two hour of deliberation.
The communiqué read thus:
* We have reinstated our commitment to a united and indivisible Nigeria. * The summit also reiterated the need for true federalism and devolution of powers.
– It reinstated its commitment to collaborate with one another for the growth and development of their economies.
* The summit emphasised priority on security of lives and property for the citizens. * It further emphasised the need for effective linkage on good infrastructure within the space of southern Nigeria. * The summit also appointed Ambode as the chairman while Ebonyi state governor, David Umahi and Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, as co-chairmen. * The next meeting is scheduled to hold in Port Harcourt, River State.
Optimism that last Monday’s summit would go a long way in redefining the relationship of the states in the south was infectious as Governor Ambode read the communiqué. However, the same optimism was almost there when a different set of governors met the last time about 13 years ago.
Fears that personality if not political rivalry would again break the bonds of unity weaved in Lagos are all too palpable.
How the governors forge to look beyond their immediate concerns to the long term good of their people may be the only key to keep them going.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode in a group photograph with 12 other Southern Governor’s and 3 deputies during the Southern Governors’ Summit at the Lagos House, Ikeja, on Monday, October 23, 2017.
lexy2014: So you have a grouse against the guy. That's ok
I am only interested in knowing how the guy by just commenting on nairaland was able to prevent Nigeria from adopting the resolution of the governors
Nigeria: Southern States Unity Cup Debuts
By Ernest Ekpenyong 22 FEBRUARY 2002
Determined to foster unity through sports, governors of the southern states of the federation have concluded arrangement to organise the first Southern States Youth Unity Football Championship.
The decision to stage the soccer fiesta expected to feature teams from all the states within the regions was taken at the last meeting of the southern governors held at Owerri, the Imo State capital late last year.
Sports › Re: NPFL '24 Trophy Presentation, Highest Goalscorer, MVP (Photos & Videos) by naptu2(op): 8:18am On Jun 26, 2024
