Why NPL Is On Hold – Minister

The Minister of Sports, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, has said
that the decision to put the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) 2012/2013 on hold was
to protect its integrity.

Abdullahi, in an interview with newsmen recently, said that
the most important ingredients in a league were integrity and credibility.

“ The league is a product; a commodity and nothing should be
done or said that should damage the integrity of the league.

“We took the decision to put the Nigerian Premier League on
hold not because we like to do that.

“The most important thing that we have to serve as a league
is the integrity and credibility aspect.,’’ Abdullahi said.

The minister stressed that prevailing issues necessitated
the enforced postponement of the NPL’s pre-season activities.

“There are outstanding issues as you all know, not on the
issue of sponsorship, even on the governance of the league generally,’’ he
said.

He said that all the outstanding issues needed to be
resolved and not postponed before the commencement of the 2012/2013 season.

The minister also said that he had resisted the tradition of
dissolving Sporting Federations which used to be the norm after every Olympic
Games.

According to him, the Transformation Agenda of President
Goodluck Jonathan is in ensuring adherence to the rule of law.

“I mean these people are elected; they have a tenure. We
must allow them to finish their tenure.

“If there is a problem, let us find a way to deal with it.
If we are not happy with them, at least they were elected, so their tenures
must end,’’ he said.