Sports
Rivers At 52: ‘We Are Yet To Score A Goal But…’
Sir, Rivers State will be 52 years in a week time, and we want to look at how far we gone and the future. Can you please introduce yourself to us?
I am Rev (Dr) Sokari Soberekon. I am a minister of the gospel. And when you hear (Rev) Doctor you will think I’am a graduate, but I am not. I have not been to the university before and I am illiterate academically, but literate in social and technology affairs. God gave me the tongue of the learned and I speak like a professor even though I am not one. I am very strong physically; I do sports, at my age, I can still break coconut with my fists. I am a sports trainer, and so I don’t drink alcohol. As a physical training instructor and I was also an activist, I was known as the roving parliamentarian in Rivers State. I used to move around the state telling indigenous and non-indigenous governors what’s needed in the state. This is the state I worked for and fought for: I fought for Rivers State financially and physically and spiritually. Today, I am glad I am alive because so many have died. We are very few that fought for Rivers State that is alive. Some of those alive include Dr (Col) Akobo, A. K. Horsfall and Alfred Diete-Spiff, our first military governor and Amanyanabo of Twon Brass. We also have Captain LongJohn and others who have worked for Rivers State. Even those alive today have not been recognised, but we still love Rivers State even though politicians have snatched power. But the sweet thing is I am alive to see Rivers State at 52 years.
For this nation to get independence, my father worked hard with Chief Dappa Biriye. In short, Chief Biriye was very young when he started fighting for Calabar, Ogoja, and Rivers States. Others that joined include GKJ Amachree. Infact Amachree was one-time president of the Congo Republic. He was a Nigerian from Buguma and Gen Aguiyi Ironsi was his ADC at the time.
Here in Nigeria before the independence the white men came and made agreement with us in the 1800s it was called Protective Agreement and they opened office in Calabar. Infact King Koko of Brass was fighting them to make sure he protects his business. The Europeans was coming out to capture people on slave trade. That was how the name “Brass” came about. Our people were shouting “Barasiyee” leave me alone “and so the Europeans named the place Brass.
However, I believe we must move forward and without restructuring it will be difficult. If we are sincere we must restructure this country to six political zones. Every zone must take care of what they have and pay tax to the government. And any attempt to privatise the oil and gas is robbing the people. Nigerian government since oil was found in commercial quantity in Oloibiri around January 1956 has not developed the Niger Delta the way it should be. Rivers State, Niger Delta have not been developed. The Igbos that have gas Oguta have not been developed as well and so if the FG goes and privatise they are robbing the people of what belongs to them. If they privatise they should give the people who own the resource to first own the resource. They can privatise but nobody should come and buy what I have here even when you have been using it they have not done the right thing by giving our people jobs and development. Usually a buyer must first of all look for his profits. So they should privatise, but let the owners fully participate, that to me is restructuring when the rightful owners take over what is their own. When the people run their resources they will pay government its tax at the central for defence, external affairs and so on.
Before the elections, I called that there should not be elections, but referendum for restructuring for a six political zone. After the referendum anybody that wants to be on his own should go, not with violence but with referendum, including the Niger Deltans.
The recent call for “Biafra” is a word borrowed from the Niger Delta “Biafra” is a Kalabari man’s name. He was a coast guard for the Amayanabo of Kalabari. He took white men to the rulers and from there they entered into treaty with the people they passed through Akassa to Nembe and from there to River Niger. That is why they called us Nigerians. That was how the name came about. Before there was nothing like Nigerian. It was the whiteman who called us Nigerians. We have our people in different communities with different government. We have Amayanabo of Okrika and his powers were limited to Okrika, he had no powers in Bonny. Emir of Kano had no powers in Kaduna. Oba of Benin ended in Benin he had no powers in Ibadan. But we were living together when the Whiteman came he centralised us and that is why I am saying no one should conquer anyone or that what you say must happen. No. Let us all live together in peace. But I will ask the youths not to sing war songs. There should be no war songs no violence. We should continue to talk with our mouth. During the days of the “Peoples Parliament” I met Governor Ukpo to site Rivploy at Bori. He is alive go and ask him and I spoke with my mouth. During that time I told them that my aim was to direct the sight and mind of the government to areas they may not see or think about. I was able to make Oyakilome to open Environmental Sanitation Authority and to stop night soilmen, it was my suggestion. At a time I was chairman of Taskforce on sanitation, me and late GB Fynecountry of great memory we worked selfless service to the people, but today nobody can remember us. What we have now is party politics, as far as you are our party man even when you are not the right person. Over the years we have seen many parties such as the NPN, NPP, GPP and PRP, all the NCNC and AG will come and go same as the PDP and APC will go but Rivers State will remain. Let us develop ourselves by restructuring and by decentralization, Okilo did decentralisation by building new towns here and there, moving away from Prot Harcourt and when he left that idea died. I commend Oyakilome for food production through School-to-Land. Today Ministry of Agriculture is not doing anything. All the food we eat now are from outside. Oyekilome opened School-to-Land, former governor Amaechi opened Banana Farm in Ogoni and those are steps in the right direction we should emulate that. Despite the fact that Amaechi through politics went off the track, he did a good job in building schools and improving education. He scored goals by building schools all over and teachers were employed. Today many of our graduates got job.
And most importantly, we must give honour to those that did great work. Ukpo built Nembe-Bonny jetty when I told him because at Nembe waterside there was no jetty there before but through my mouth Ukpo built it. My duty is to go as the little poor wise man and talk. President Shagari came here after Ambrose Alli took him to court asking for oil derivation and he lost all the case to Supreme Court. It was from there I took over the fight. One particular matter I took up was when they wanted to increase the price of petrol and I stood up and asked why must oil that is gotten and refined were be increased and we pay the same price as other Nigerians. That incident was published by The Tide and I believe you have it in your library. It’s annoying (laughing).
Now That Rivers State Is 52 Will You Say That We Have Had A Good Time From Creation To Now?
No, not yet. Apart from the Indigenous governors that did their best. Okilo tried, Diete-Spiff tried and Ada George came but his tenure was very brief. Infact we have not scored goal. We had been governed by many non-indigenous governors and because of their army uniform they were afraid to tell the centre what the people wanted. That was why when I was the moving parliamentarian, I was going round telling the government; this is what we want. I paid my money travelling round Rivers State telling the government through people’s parliament that this is what we want. If you go to Ministry of Information and ask of “Peoples Parliament” file you will see me. I even led Rivers State Youths to National Festival and took first two times, at Okpara Square we took first and at Ilorin we also took first. Patriotism was driving us at that time and I was not a staff of the government or Youth Ministry.
You’ve Talked About Restructuring and internally you have talked about agriculture and decentralisation. How Do You Want The Decentralisation To Be Done?
For development, Governor Wike has done so much on infrastructure that he is now called “Mr Project”, but what he has done is very much on roads. How many of us have cars? My people don’t ride on cars. So he should develop the people now. Rivers State should not have poor people. Alfred Diete Spiff brought in economic development to relief the people. Most of what was done was to resettle the people; they did not invest the money and sold abandoned property. I did not buy anyone though Rivers State Government has been liberal with me on land allocation. I was the first land lord on GRA Phase II and Phase III. The government was very liberal with me on land allocation, but the problem is money to develop them. I believe the Lord will do wonders I even want the government to help me now.
On derivation, I remember when President Shagari visited the state I told him to go that we are not voting him again and he said why and I said give us oil derivation and Okilo told him this is Rivers strongman and he said ok I will approve it, and he did. From then on I went to campaign for him without any money from him and he won before he was over thrown by the military government of Buhari and Idiagbor. So for Buhari to leave a legacy he should jettison politics and bring development to our side. He should restructure and he can be our president for four, five, tenures. Let the people manage themselves and report to him as it was by the colonial masters. We had the governors of Eastern, Northern and Western Region and Mid West Region. Infact my father was among those who fought for Calabar, Ogoja and Rivers State. I remember that both Azikiwe and Awolowo slept in our house and as young boy, I was hearing them talking. They asked that we be carved out from Eastern region as Mid-West was carved out from the Western Region. For them, that Ogoja, Calabar and Rivers can be a region. As Awolowo gave out Midwest, they wanted Azikiwe to carve out Calabar, Ogoja Rivers. That meeting was held at Buguma and they stayed in my father’s house. Azikiwe slept in our house and he would smoke cigarettes and throw to the people and many who were there were jumping on top of each other to pick the cigarettes. He never gave them anyone. Many able young men were jumping on each other to get cigarettes that, “Zik of Africa” smoked and threw to them. That wasn’t the right way to share his cigarettes because at that time cigarettes were 50 to 60 sticks in a cup. Even at that, the people carried him they did not allow him to walk on foot and they were shouting “Zik, “Zik”. I was there.
Now to what I was talking about agriculture, the state should empower the traditional rulers so that the farmers in that area can expand their activities, the state government can intervene by monitoring them and do researches. It’s unfortunate that as a state we don’t have one warehouse owned by Ministry of Agriculture or silos that are full of grains but billions of naira are voted yearly for agriculture and trailers daily come into Rivers State with food. They forget that whoever is feeding you is more superior to you. Our people are busy drinking hot drinks. Those days anybody who sells alcohol must have license. Today nobody is asking for such license and Ministry of Commerce can make revenue from there. Everywhere people are hawking alcohol now like sachet water which is wrong and you must be 18yrs old before you can enter into a licensed beer parlour to drink alcohol. But now five years old kids enter beer parlour to drink. The government should stand up and ban all roadside alcohol selling markets that are destroying our youths. Our youths should be meaningfully engaged through agriculture.
Are You Saying Agriculture Should Be The Way Out?
Yes, they should use the traditional institutions who would now call their people and make them go to farm to produce. Not by buying tractors and sharing and tomorrow you see them scrapped by the roadside. If you stand by the roadside everyday you will see how these women doing bush market business struggle to transport their goods from the rural villages to the city. How they go to the suburb with motorcycle and load garri, plantain, yams on vehicles. That is why when they come down here, they sell them at cut throat prices, because they don’t have public transport. All these small taxis and vehicles should be phased out. Those little buses should be sent to the rural areas. And those types that were used for political campaigns should be allowed to ply the roads that Mr Project have built, Mr Project have really built good road. But they should not destroy what has been built before. Today the governors suffer half truths. No patriotic advice, all they want to do is to build things fast and get their money. It’s unfortunate that those surrounding our governors are those who want to exploit the situation by telling them half truths.
Apart Developing Agriculture Using Traditional Rulers In The Rural Areas, What Else Can The Govt Do? The Governor Recently Gave N200m To Entrepreneurs As Interest Free Loan What Is Your View On That?
Good but those who are benefitting are they all trained to use that money. Remember trading is different agriculture is different. Agreed it’s a good step in the right direction, but if it’s loan that means it’s to be paid back. What about if the money is not paid back? I want to advise that such loans should not be given to party members because of the winner takes all attitudes of Nigerian politicians out there. If I were him, I would not give the opposition or PDP members but the actual people who needs the loan- the business people, traders, farmers.
Now if he wants to give money to his party supporters that should be different. Some of those given the loan now will go and buy a car. After the war, Governor Alfred Diete-Spiff gave loan at Ikwerre Road and some of the people went and married two wives. So for you to give loan to somebody you must see what he or she is doing. So before you give loan there must be a process of verification, not just putting peoples name. you are giving money to boost the economy. Shakespeare says whatever you are doing do it well. Most of us the elder statesmen also need government support. I am close to 80yrs and no longer strong to jump up and down, most of my properties are undeveloped; I was living on rent and recently I went to India to invite some partners to come and invest with me and they raised the issue of Boko Haram and herdsmen. Most of my grown children have graduated but have no jobs. And if the government does not come to my aid, I may go to the road to go and beg. I run a church but don’t believe in making money. We are very few congregation. So as I said earlier, that loan is a very good thing but it should go to the people that will use it well not those who will go and use it to marry new wives or buy new cars. If it’s for agriculture, you need to confirm what they are doing first before you give out the loan.
So I thank him for such efforts but he should be careful of sycophants. I remember a scenario where former Governor Okilo was told he was doing well till he went and inspected one road and have to put his hand on his head on discovering that he was being deceived. The governor was crying because what they told him and what he saw was different.
Apart From Agriculture Which Area Do You Thank The Governor Can Do And What Are Your Expectation In The Next Four Years?
I would want him to give serious attention to health. All over the place children and mothers are dying because they don’t have money to pay hospital bills. I will suggest that children and mothers health care should be free.
Already The Governor Is Building “Mother & Child Hospital” And It Will Soon Be Commissioned: Ok, that is a very good one, and it should be made free. Women lives are at stake during child birth. The problem is such that whether the husband has money or not, you can’t stop a woman from giving birth. So for Governor Wike to be father for now and for unborn children he should make that hospital free for women and children.
Secondly, he should give attention to public water provision. All over the state now “pure water” has become a big business. It’s regrettable that the water projects that were started long ago had been abandoned. Infact, the pipes that were laid before the Amaechi regime dug them out for the monorail along the UTC, Abonnema Wharf junction. For me, if government cannot give the citizens food, then it should try and provide potable water and mass transit buses and hospital. In education let the teachers were well paid. The teachers and nurses should be well taken care of.
In the judiciary, I think they have corrupt judges there. He should encourage the honest ones and retire the corrupt ones. I am talking with experience. If you are made a judge then you must be transparent because you are judging between a poor man and a rich man, but if you are corrupt you are bound to cause more harm than good in the society. If you look at the emblem of the judiciary you will see a lady with her eyes tied meaning that judges are impartial and we expected not to favour no one, no matter the situation. I could still recall my experience with late Justice Membere when I brought somebody to her who was accused of stealing Michelin tyres. The person was remanded in the prison yard. So I took my document to go and bail him. So we went to her with N12,000 for assistance. That money at the time could buy you three Volkswagen cars and so by the time we got to her house and told her why we came, I and the person who went with me was almost arrested. I was in trouble, but she said we should go that she doesn’t want our money. Those are the types of judges we want. I pray that God should bless those type of judges and I know there are also the bad ones and God will deal with them. Remember that Justice Bola Ige found her husband guilty in court, at that time Bola Ige was governor of Oyo State.
Another area is sanitation. They were doing great work before but of movement is not controlled, it will surely go above the power of the sanitation authority. People come into the city; some stay under the bridge and a lot of shops everywhere.
The January 16, 2026, deadline handed to Nigeria by the World Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) to explain the circumstances surrounding multiple dates of birth for 17 Nigerian athletes may have triggered another round of trouble for the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).
In countries where sport is seen as a serious business, both governments and individuals treat age falsification as a crime due to the significant danger it poses to society.
Age falsification is a practice where athletes, coaches, or individuals within the system alter their ages to gain an unfair advantage, and in the process prevent younger and qualified individuals from career progression and employment opportunities.
Apart from leading to frustration and high youth unemployment rates, competing in lower age brackets or extending eligibility undermines the fairness, credibility and integrity that sports are meant to embody.
The ripples of such dishonesty stretch far, impacting individual athletes, programmes, and the global reputation of competitive athletics.
From a moral standpoint, age falsification erodes trust within the sporting community; it kills the morale of junior athletes, who train tirelessly only to compete against older folks or those who are more developed physically and mentally. This level of deceit not only denies younger athletes the recognition that they deserve but also creates an uneven playing field that violates the spirit of competition.
Beyond emotional consequences, the long-term damage could hinder the development of talented athletes, who may decide to walk away due to unfair competition.
In well-organised sports societies like the United Kingdom and the United States, severe legal penalties await offenders, including imprisonment and fines, as well as career consequences (loss of job, medals, or permanent bans), among others.
Such serious-minded countries see age falsification as fostering a culture of dishonesty and fraud, as other corrupt acts often move in tandem with it, making the system less efficient and effective.
To them, age falsification undermines trust and accountability within institutions, as it signals a corrupt and unfair system. It tarnishes a nation’s international reputation, leading to global ridicule and sanctions from international bodies like FIFA, World Athletics (WA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Conversely, in Nigeria, age falsification seems to have become a practice among certain individuals and organisations, as they see every competition as a “must-win” event to impress their patrons. Yet, there are some Nigerians who view age falsification as a systemic issue, driven by economic and social pressure from “pay masters”, not minding the results, which include breakdown of integrity, fairness, and efficiency at all levels of society.
The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), for the second time in two years, has become a centre of global attention, following a December 2, 2025, letter from the World Athletics’ Integrity Unit (AIU) that raised concerns about multiple dates of birth for 17 Nigerian athletes, who competed at the 2025 African Combined U-18/U-20 Athletics Championships in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
In June 2024, the AIU queried the AFN following discrepancies in the ages of four Nigerian athletes, who were preparing for the World U-20 Championships in Lima, Peru.
The AIU said then that it “identified discrepancies regarding the date of birth (DOB) for at least four Nigerian athletes,” noting that “each of these athletes has at least two, and sometimes three or more, different DOBs, which have been used to enter competitions at different times.”
The AIU said: “It was not aware of any reason why these athletes appear to have completely different, multiple DOBs. It is also not clear whether the identification documents submitted by the athletes (such as passports) are true or whether they have been forged or falsified.”
The AIU letter on June 7, 2024, addressed to AFN President Tonobok Okowa and former Secretary Rita Moshindi, was signed by the Head of the Athletics Integrity Unit, Brett Clothier. It gave the AFN until Friday, June 21, 2024, to respond to the query.
Then, the AIU demanded that the AFN submit, among other things, the athletes’ current passport, all previous passports, birth certificates, national ID cards, documents submitted in support of passport applications, medical records, including hospitalisation records, dental records, vaccination records as well as education records, including matriculation records, school end-of-term/year reports and school examination results, among others.
In the current query, the AIU revealed shocking discrepancies, as Juliana Ademola Temitope, listed as born in 2005 in earlier competitions, had her date of birth suddenly changed to 2006 at the African Junior Championships.
Adeola Adenji Muideen appeared with a 2004 birthdate in Lagos, but astonishingly became 2009 elsewhere. Esther Aiffigbo competed in 2025 as a 2006-born athlete, yet her World Athletics profile lists 2002 as her year of birth.
Ibrahim Ajibare has no fewer than four different dates of birth, ranging from 2002 to 2009, while Emmanuel Blessing’s DOB was entered as 2007 at the Juniors, but 2002 at the Asaba Trials.
For the AIU, these definitely are not clerical errors, but deliberate manipulations designed to sneak overage athletes into junior competitions. The AIU has made it clear that such practices undermine the honesty standard of athletics and cast doubt on Nigeria’s integrity in global sport.
The demand by AIU is clear: the AFN must produce verifiable documents such as birth certificates, passports, school records, or medical files to prove the athletes’ true ages.
Anything less will trigger a formal investigation into age manipulation, a violation of the World Athletics Technical Rules and the Integrity Code of Conduct.
As it stands, unless the AFN produces credible, contemporaneous documents by the January 16 deadline, the country will face another round of investigations that may tarnish its athletes’ reputations and damage the country’s image.
Instead of answering the AIU’s direct questions on why athletes have conflicting dates of birth, the AFN elected to sit in judgment over itself by setting up a probe panel made up of some of its board members.
To some stakeholders, that is a conflict of interest.
A former President of the AFN, Olamide George, told The Guardian from his base in the United States of America that the issue of age falsification under the present AFN leadership has long been a troubling shadow over the federation’s integrity.
“The AIU’s introduction of stricter sanctions could represent a turning point in addressing this long-standing challenge,” George said. “For every cheat, there must be a penalty.”
The Ondo State-born sports administrator further said: “After thorough investigation by AIU, it could decide to suspend the affected athletes, ban officials implicated in the fraud, and penalise the federation, to deliver justice while signalling a commitment to reform.”
According to him, the AFN needs advanced biometric solutions or data verification systems to pre-empt tampering with documents like birth certificates.
“But the question is, ‘Is the leadership ready to lead? Is it equipped and prepared for leadership?’ What a shame. These measures put the spotlight not just on athletes, but also on the adults or institutions that enable such practices. After all, the root cause often lies in organised manipulation rather than individual decisions.”
George continued: “On the flip side, a key challenge is how to balance the punishment with fairness. Some athletes may find themselves penalised for actions they didn’t directly control, particularly minors whose documents were altered by parents, coaches, or administrators. This raises broader ethical debates.
“How do we ensure that sanctions deter dishonesty without unfairly punishing victims of a corrupt system? Governments and athletics’ governing bodies will need to walk a fine line between accountability and compassion.
Ultimately, these stringent measures are aimed at restoring confidence in the purity of athletic achievements.
Sanctions alone, however, may not be enough. I, therefore, call on the NSC to reform the AFN because the federation needs systemic reform, including better education, transparency, and more pathways for athletes to rise on merit. Only then can sports truly embody values like honesty, dedication, and perseverance; values worth preserving for future generations.”
“The AFN President, Tonobok Okowa, should be the first to stand accused. He failed to act when the issue first emerged, and his poor judgment in appointments has only deepened the rot.”
Even before setting up a probe panel to investigate the latest age falsification saga, the AFN boss, Okowa, had absolved the federation of blame, but fingered athletes and their coaches in the age-cheating scandal.
Speaking on a radio programme, Talk Sports, Okowa insisted that athletes and their coaches are responsible for the infractions. He described the behaviour of some athletes and their coaches as “worrisome.”
“This issue has nothing to do with the AFN. Athletes keep attending different competitions with their coaches, who register them with varying dates of birth. You can see somebody with a date of birth that is just about 13 days different. Is that a typographical error or whatever it is?” he asked.
Okowa explained that the federation, which had perfected its database, was shocked to find out that some athletes entered competitions using different dates of birth that differed from those in its database. “That is just what it is. What reason will a coach have to change the date of birth of an athlete? It is getting worrisome,” he said.
But the president of the Athletics Coaches Association of Nigeria, Solomon Aliu, disagrees with Okowa. He said that coaches should be absolved of the blame because they work with athletes given to them. Aliu, who is also AFN’s Head Coach, described the latest age falsification saga as more of a record-keeping problem.
“Anybody who is blaming age falsification by athletes on coaches’ doorsteps is being untruthful,” Aliu said.
“What I know about crime prevention is to make it difficult for the criminal to commit the crime by putting in place preventative measures. If the AFN Secretariat has a functional database with the relevant information about our athletes from their very first competition, i.e., Date of Birth and other relevant data, athletes or their coaches cannot wake up to change the athletes’ DOB without the Secretariat flagging such an athlete.
“Coaches are not the record keepers of the federation, and as such should not be blamed totally for this mess that we are faced with. I am happy that the NSC is taking the issue of age cheating in our sports seriously. I’m also certain that AFN will wake up to its responsibility to investigate properly and bring to book whoever is involved in this disturbing trend. Until that is done, I won’t accept anybody trying to tarnish the image of our hard-working coaches. We deserve to be patted on the back and not subjected to name-calling. Heads must roll, but let the head of the innocent remain on their necks. Let us all work together in cleaning up our sports, not just of age cheats, but also of dope,” Aliu stated.
To a former Secretary of the Delta State Athletics Association, Monday Akpoyibo, the age falsification scandal in the nation’s athletics became more rampant during the tenure of a former AFN president (names withheld).
“It was during his tenure as AFN president that the issue of age falsification became rampant because of his desire to win at all costs,” Akpoyibo told Tidesports source.
“In the days of Adeyemi Wilson and Dan Ngerem, they had zero tolerance for age cheats. If the AFN had a good database of its athletes, there would be no age falsification. As far back as the 1973 National Sports Festival, there were three categories of athletes. We had the U-13, Intermediate class and Men/Women class. This system enabled athletes to grow from one class to another as they mature into the Games. So, it was pretty difficult to cheat since the federations had your data,” Akpoyibo stated.
The Sky Blue Stars will make their long-awaited return on January 7, when they host Ikorodu City in their NPFL matchday 20 fixture, bringing to an end a five-month spell away from home in Abeokuta.
Chairman of the club, Kunle Soname, confirmed that the stadium was ready to welcome the team and its supporters again after major renovation works were carried out on the pitch.
“Renovation of the pitch has been completed and has been certified even by the FIFA inspection team. Our first game will be against Ikorodu City when the second stanza of the season resumes,” Soname told Tiesports source.
First opened in 2020 and hosting its maiden league fixture in 2021 following the club’s return from the second division, the stadium’s hybrid synthetic turf has now been replaced with a new surface after five years of use.
At the start of the season in August 2025, Remo Stars adopted the MKO Abiola Sports Arena in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, as their temporary home ground while renovation works were ongoing in Ikenne.
However, life in Abeokuta has proved challenging for the champions, who have struggled for consistency in their bid to defend the title. They opened the campaign with a 1-1 draw against Rivers United on August 22, 2025, before suffering home defeats to Rangers International on November 13 and Bendel Insurance, who edged them 3-2 on Sunday, December 21.
Remo Stars also played their CAF Champions League preliminary matches in Abeokuta but once again failed to reach the group stage. They cruised past Comoros champions Zilimadjou with a 5-0 aggregate victory in the first round, only to be outclassed by South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns, who sealed a dominant 7-1 aggregate win after a 5-1 victory in Nigeria in October and completing the rout in South Africa.
Currently languishing in 16th position on the NPFL table with 22 points from 19 matches, Remo Stars will hope their return to Ikenne provides the spark needed to revive their campaign in the second stanza of the season.
Head coach Daniel Ogunmodede, who is currently on national team duty with the Super Eagles at the 2025 AFCON, had earlier attributed the club’s slow start in the league to the temporary change in home ground.
“It is not an excuse, but things might have been different if we had played our home games in Ikenne,” Ogunmodede said in August 2025, following the draw against Rivers United.
Remo Stars enjoyed a remarkable run in the league last season, clinching their first-ever title with 71 points, seven clear of second-placed Rivers United.
While they may no longer be in contention for the crown this term, it remains to be seen how much they can salvage from the campaign upon their return home.
Remo Stars owner Kunle Soname has launched a strong criticism of officiating in the Nigeria Premier Football League, calling for referees involved in what he described as clear and obvious errors this ongoing season to be held accountable and demoted, Tidesports source reports. .
Speaking to the media on Wednesday at the Remo Stars Sports Complex in Ikenne, Soname said the club’s concerns were driven by repeated decisions that have, in his view, tilted matches unfairly.
Remo Stars currently sit 16th on the NPFL table, one place and one point above Barau FC in the first relegation spot, a sharp contrast to last season when they lifted the league title.
Soname referenced several incidents this campaign, including a recent game against Ikorodu City, the matchday 18 fixture involving Remo Stars and Insurance, as well as video footage from the Barau and Shooting Stars encounter, all of which he said highlighted inconsistencies in refereeing decisions.
He insisted that the issue was not a blanket attack on referees but a demand for accountability and consistency.
“Referees can be good. They can get the job done. They just decide to apply the rules in a different way. Now, we have just brought this out now because they are clear and obvious errors. But we all know football, there are many instances where their bias will not result in goals,” Soname said.
He added that the problem often lies in repeated marginal decisions favouring one side.
Say 50-50 calls, they are just consistently giving it to one side, one side, one side. So if there is a body that will watch all the games and that will hold them accountable and say, ‘Listen my friend, why is this a foul in this match for this team in yellow, and the same thing has happened here against them and it’s not a foul?’ Then everybody will sit up and the game will be fair.”
He added, “The committee should reward referees who are doing great jobs and punish those with poor officiating by demoting them to the NNL. It is not the kind of demotion that after one or two weeks they are back, they should be demoted for the entire season.”
Soname stressed that fairness was fundamental to the growth of Nigerian football.
“The better teams will win and that is how football can develop and grow in this country,” he said.
He was also keen to distance his comments from what he described as a misdirected attack on the Nigeria Football Federation.
They will say, ‘He’s attacking NFF.’ It has got nothing to do with NFF. NFF did not appoint referees. It is the committee that appointed the referees. NFF did not hold the whistle to come and do stupid things on the pitch,” he said.
According to Soname, responsibility must be shared between match officials and those who appoint them.
“The referees will carry their cross and the appointment committee will carry their cross as well. Under whose purview is the referee appointment? NFF committee appointed them. That is exactly what I’m saying,” he stated.
He called on the federation to ensure the right people oversee officiating.
“The NFF needs to put proper people there, proper people, that will just ensure accountability and fairness. That is all we require. And trust me, if there is fairness on the pitch, this football will grow astronomically in this country.”
Soname also rejected suggestions that Remo Stars had benefited from refereeing favouritism in the past, particularly during their title-winning campaign.
“Anybody that says he collected one cent from Remo Stars last season, season before last, season before that one, should come out and say it and I will sack that official the same day. That is not what we stand for,” he said.
“I challenge anybody, anybody. If the person can prove it, the person that did that in this club is gone the same day. Gone,” Soname said, adding that Remo Stars’ operations were transparent and could not conceal such payments.
Beyond officiating, Soname highlighted the broader financial realities of Nigerian football, noting that most clubs operate at a loss. He explained that Remo Stars rely heavily on their academy model to sustain the club.
However, he argued that financial strength should be expressed through squad building rather than manipulation.
“If you have more money, go and recruit Ronaldo, pay him, he will score 30 goals and you will win the league. Resources need to be channeled towards competition, towards fairness. It cannot be the other way,” Soname said.