‘You’re A Pathological Liar’, NSC DG, Olopade Slams Peter Obi Over Flamingos Airport Incident

ABUJA – The Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Hon. Bukola Olopade, has described former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, as a “pathological liar” over his claim that officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) prevented him from greeting members of Nigeria’s victorious Flamingos team at the Abuja airport.

Olopade, who faulted Obi’s account of the incident, said the former governor could not have seen the players at the airport because of the time they arrived and the airport’s exit arrangements.

According to him, the Flamingos landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at about 5:30 a.m., when it was still dark, adding that no domestic flight check-in activities were taking place at the time.

He argued that even if domestic flight operations had commenced, Obi, who claimed to have been at the local airport to board an Enugu-bound flight, could not have seen the players from his location.

“The plane landed at 5:30 a.m. It was still very dark. No local flight was checking in at that time. Even if they were checking in, there was no way Obi would have seen those children from where he was at the local airport,” Olopade said.

He further explained that the players passed through immigration and exited through the international airport’s underground exit, insisting that the airport’s layout made Obi’s account questionable.

Olopade also faulted Obi’s account of a similar incident during a FIFA World Cup qualifier in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, in March 2025.

He maintained that access to players during FIFA-organised matches was subject to established protocols, stressing that no individual, regardless of political status, could simply walk into the players’ dressing room or approach them without following the prescribed procedures.

“In Uyo, for those who know FIFA-organised matches, you cannot say because you are Obi or anyone else, you want to go and see the players in their dressing room. There are protocols,” he said.

The NSC boss described Obi’s conduct as contradictory to his advocacy for orderliness and good governance.

“This is a man who says he wants to govern on orderliness, yet he is being disorderly,” he added.

Olopade cautioned against politicising the achievement of the Flamingos, insisting that the controversy should not be allowed to overshadow the team’s historic accomplishment.

“We should stop all this nonsense. Everything should not be about politics. He cannot take away the shine and glory of these girls,” he said.

Obi had, in a statement issued on Monday titled, “A New Dimension of Toxic Politics in Nigeria,” accused NFF officials of preventing him from welcoming the Flamingos players following their return from Morocco, where they won the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

The former Anambra governor said he arrived at the Abuja airport at about 7 a.m. to board a flight to Enugu when he noticed the returning players.

He said he instructed his Protocol Officer, Jackie Wayas, to find out whether he could greet the team but was informed that NFF officials had objected to his approaching the players.

“I was informed that officials of the Nigerian Football Federation had refused and had requested that I not approach,” Obi said.

He also recalled an alleged similar experience on March 25, 2025, during a World Cup qualifier in Uyo, where he claimed he was prevented from greeting the players after the match despite being welcomed by the state governor at the VIP stand.

Obi described the incidents as manifestations of what he called “toxic politics,” expressing concern over what he considered a worsening political climate in Nigeria since 2025.