The Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Bolaji Abdullahi yesterday inaugurated the committee set up to unravel the immediate and remote causes of the bonus row that exploded in Namibia, last month.

Bolaji Abdullahi

Speaking at the occasion, the Minister  re- ferred to the protest over match bonuses by Super Eagles players in Namibia as unfortunate, saying, “the unfortunate incident in Namibia brought to the fore the larger issues in the administration of football in Nigeria as rows in our football have been perennial.”

The Minister hoped the committee which is headed by the former Spokesman of late President Yar’Ardua, Segun Adeniyi who incidentally served as a member of the defunct Presidential Task Force on Super Eagles 2010 World Cup campaign will dig deep and find a lasting solution to the recurrent issue of match bonuses.

Earlier, the Director General of the NSC, Gbenga Elegbeleye expressed shock at the Namibia incident , calling it “a national embarrassment” and wondered why other African countries that do not pay their players as much bonuses as Nigeria were not having such problems

The terms of reference are to determine the immediate and remote causes of the match bonus row in Namibia, develop a code of conduct for players on national assignments and any other recommendation that may be deemed necessary for the good governance of football in the country.

Chairman of the committee, Segun Adeniyi said the committee assignment was one that required  action instead of long speeches. “We will talk less but when we submit our report, it will speak for us,” Adeinyi said. The committee is expected to submit its report in a fortnight.

Other members of the committee include the Group Sports Editor of Vanguard Newspapers, Onochie Anibeze, AIT’s Aisha Falode, Shehu Dikko of the League Management Company, Akin Oshuntokun, former international Garba Lawal and Honourable Abdulkadir Mamman Nasir.