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Monica Iheakam
Former minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, failed to make the new ministerial list despite boasting that he will return to the sporting fraternity.
President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday forwarded names of 43 ministerial nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation.
Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawan read the names at yesterday’s plenary session with Dalung’s name missing. He was rumoured to be among the list of ministerial nominees and favoured to return to the post, especially after he was named in the 11-man federal government delegation to offer support to the Super Eagles at the recently concluded 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Dalung had in June 2019, reeled out a number of policies he intends to embark on as a sports minister if he gets the nod by Mr. President to return to his former role.
He was even quoted in some quarters boasting of his imminent second missionary journey to the sports circle; “No, there is nobody born of a woman that can stop my appointment if God wants it to be.
I am not carried away by such sentiments,” Dalung was quoted as saying.
In his stint as minister of youths and sports, the 54-year-old was engaged in bitter row with leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation for the better part of his tenure . There was the avoidable crisis in the basketball and athletics federations, as well as the ‘missing IAAF $130,000’, among many other lows, which did not help the rating of the beret wearing ex-minister.
The sports fraternity in Nigeria now awaits the appointment of a new minister, pending the conclusion of the screening of the nominees by the Senate.
