By Ola Adeola
Solomon Dalung, minister of youth and sports development, and the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), have disagreed on over the cartering a Delta Airline jet to convey the Dream Team to Brazil from Atlanta.
Speaking on Channels Television, Dalung said he found out that the NFF lied that it chartered Delta Airlines to convey the Nigerian U-23 team to Rio Olympics.
“The theory of the chartered flight was another attempt to rip the country off. All these are unsubstantiated allegations,” he said.
“As I stand today, we have a receipt from an agent that NFF claimed to have chartered a flight from Atlanta to Manaus on the 4th of August.
“Yet, we had Delta airline which I have confirmed through the person I sent to Delta office that the flight from Atlanta to Manaus was their contribution to help the team get to Brazil.
“That they also air lifted them from Nigeria to Atlanta.
“It means that there was this existing partnership between Nigeria Football Federation and Delta Airline.”
But Ademola Olajire, NFF spokesman, opposed the minister’s claim. Olajire implied in an inquiry by TheCable that the NFF didn’t have a partnership with the American Airline.
“Is Delta Airline NFF partner?” Olajire responded to the inquiry.
