‘You are not President’ – Bashir Ahmad says Peter Obi can’t meet U-17 girls before Tinubu
Bashir Ahmad, a former aide to the president, clarified on Monday why Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), cannot officially welcome Nigeria’s Under-17 women’s football team, known as the Flamingos, upon their return to the country.
Ahmad stated that, as a non-president, Obi lacks the authority to extend such a welcome on behalf of the nation. In a post on X, he argued that the team had not been neglected, which would have justified Obi’s intervention.
Obi had previously expressed his frustration, claiming that officials from the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) prevented him from greeting the victorious team in Enugu upon their arrival.
In his response, Ahmad emphasized, “As a private citizen, you simply cannot have the privilege of welcoming home a national team that has won a World Cup ahead of the President, because that responsibility belongs to the nation.”
He added that the players are not abandoned but are champions deserving of celebration that honors their historic achievement, rather than a brief acknowledgment on the tarmac.
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