Photo: The Flamingos lift the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup trophy in Morocco — FIFA Women's World Cup / Instagram, via BellaNaija
FLAMINGOS WATCH — The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, has waded into the row between Peter Obi and football officials over access to Nigeria's world-champion Flamingos at Abuja airport, accusing the former presidential candidate of seeking photo opportunities with a success story of a government he criticises.
Keyamo wrote on X: "Mr Peter Obi, in all your public vituperations, you often say things akin to the fact that 'Nigeria is finished'. So, why are you now so anxious to associate with a success story of the country or this government? Just for photo ops? You see the hypocrisy?"
The exchange is the latest chapter in the airport row that began when the Flamingos landed in Abuja on Monday morning, hours after winning the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Morocco.
- Obi says he arrived at the airport around 7am for an Enugu flight and sent his protocol officer, Jackie Wayas, to ask if he could greet the team
- He says NFF officials refused, telling his aide they would lose their jobs if he approached the players
- The Presidency accused Obi of politicising national sports teams; Keyamo has now added the charge of hypocrisy
What Peter Obi said happened at the airport
In a statement issued through the Peter Obi Media Office, Obi said he was informed that officials of the Nigeria Football Federation refused his request to greet the players and said staff would lose their jobs if he approached them. He called it "the new dimension of toxic politics that Nigeria has developed since 2025" and cited a similar incident in Uyo on March 25, 2025.
Obi's account is his allegation: NTN has reported it as such from the start, and the NFF has not publicly responded to it.
Presidency replies as Flamingos begin homecoming celebrations
The Presidency responded on Monday through the Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, who said the country's athletes "represent the entire Federal Republic of Nigeria, not any specific political party or individual ambition," and that to "spin standard security and administrative protocols into a narrative of political victimisation is a disservice to the unity that sport is meant to foster in our country."
Keyamo's intervention on X takes the government's response a step further, questioning Obi's motive rather than the facts of the airport encounter.
What happens next
The Flamingos' homecoming programme continues — trophy parade in Abuja done, presidential reception still to come at a later date — while the political argument around their arrival continues in parallel. The NFF's silence remains the open thread: a federation statement would be the next chapter of FLAMINGOS WATCH.
Credit: Vanguard, November 10, 2026, reporting Peter Obi's statement and Festus Keyamo's post on X.
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