A former Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, has alleged that erstwhile President Muhammadu Buhari was used to eliminate his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan.
He made the claim during an appearance on Seun Okinbaloye’s podcast, Mic On.
Dalung said the political elites, however, dumped Buhari after using him to eliminate Jonathan.
According to Dalung, “Buhari was used and dumped, his charisma was needed at that point in time by the political elites to eliminate Jonathan.
“And shortly after Buhari had taken over power, these sets of political elites emerged and hijacked the government and Buhari was a stranger.
“I can say this at any point in time that Buhari was a stranger in his own government and I can collaborate this.
“I went to see the president when I was out of office in 2020 and I told him ‘Mr president this wasn’t what we told Nigerians, we campaigned and convinced Nigerians and when I look at the type of investment the common people put in our government and here we are today with insecurity.”
Cabinet Reshuffle: ‘Tinubu’s Administration Lacks Knowledge Of How Sport Works’ – Former Minister, Dalung
Meanwhile, Dalung, has expressed strong criticism regarding the recent decision to scrap the Ministry of Sports Development, replacing it with the previously dissolved National Sports Commission (NSC).
Speaking with Daily Independent, Dalung highlighted his concerns over the latest cabinet reshuffle, which saw significant changes including the dismantling of his former ministry.
Dalung argued that the move demonstrates a lack of understanding within the current government about the fundamental structures necessary for sports development in Nigeria.
He said, “The decision to scrap the Sports Ministry shows that government lacked knowledge on how the sports structure works.
“Sports is like any other ministry with political and technical components. Technical components of sports is the National Sports Commission while the Ministry of Sports serves as the political component.
“You cannot just wake up to scrap the political component of sports because it is vital for international diplomacy.
“Can the Director General of the National Sports Commission sit at a meeting of Sports Ministers?
“Director General of National Sports Commission is going to be a core professional who will galvanise efforts at developing the sports while the political head of sports, the minister, will handle political aspect of sports.
“Honestly, this is a very wrong decision taking by the government and I condemn it because it will affect the overall development of sports.”