Sports

Gara Gombe Faults Sports Minister Plan Meet With NFF Presidential Candidates

Published

4 years ago

September 26, 2022

… Accuses aspirants of desperation
Joel Ajayi
Special Adviser to Gombe State governor on strategy and information management, Ahmed Shuaibu Gara Gombe, has faulted the move by the minister of youth and sports development, Mr Sunday Dare, to meet with all presidential candidates of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

With the elective congress of the NFF slated for Friday in Benin City threatened by court’s order order restraining the body from holding the elections, Sports Minister Dare has called for a meeting of all the 11 presidential candidates in his office at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja today.

According to Gara Gombe, the meeting is unnecessary, saying the presidential candidates of NFF have no connection with the Sports Minister because he is not the electoral umpire.

“Why are they meeting the minister of sports and for what? Did he buy their forms and what connection do they have with him? Is he the one conducting the elections?” Gara asked rhetorically.

“The minister deceived us with a masterplan, promised implementation of it before elections, he promised LMC will be dissolved, nothing happens. The same way the minister bungled the basketball ban with all the collateral damages he will do the same with football. I used to have pity for him before but not anymore.”

The former chairman Gombe State Football Association (GSFA) also accused the candidates of NFF elections of desperation. “These same aspirants who want to rule our football went and signed one of the most senseless undertakings in the history of elections in the world.

“One of the criteria to contest is an undertaking in the form of an affidavit that they ‘waived irrevocably’ their rights and privilege to contest the outcome of the elections in a regular court of law.

“The same right guaranteed them by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They now abandoned it and transferred it to an ad hoc committee.

“There is a court order against the elections, yet they keep campaigning, preparing as if there is no law in this country. The same situation that we found ourselves in making them want to contest the election. No difference between all of them and Amaju, sadly some of them are lawyers. Now if any of them wins he will run to FIFA for protection,” Gara stated.

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Sports

Plateau Vipers, Benue Queens Crowned Champions at HFN North Central Division One Tourney

Published

1 hour ago

October 3, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The President of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Jibril Seidu, has said the federation will continue to intensify its grassroots talent development drive through zonal competitions across the country.

Seidu stated this on Saturday in Abuja at the finals of the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship, where Plateau Vipers defeated Suleja Shooters 29-24 to emerge champions in the men’s category.

In the women’s final, Benue Queens of Makurdi defeated City Queens of Suleja to claim the title.

The eight-day tournament featured teams from across the North Central Zone, with Plateau Vipers of Jos, Confluence Stars of Lokoja, Unity Boys of Abuja, Suleja Shooters and Nasarawa Ambassadors of Lafia competing in the men’s category.

In the women’s category, Nuela Handball Academy of Ilorin, Inikpi Babes of Idah, Benue Queens of Makurdi and City Queens of Suleja competed for honours.

At the end of the competition, four teams — two male and two female — emerged as the North Central Zone’s representatives for the national Division One league.

According to Seidu, the tournament was organised as part of the federation’s deliberate strategy to take handball development back to the regions and discover talents that might otherwise remain unnoticed.

He said the HFN board, inaugurated on October 25, 2025, resolved that grassroots development was essential to creating a sustainable pipeline of players for national and international competitions.

“All the teams you have seen here are from the North Central Zone of the country, and every state is represented with an academy or state team,” he said.

Seidu explained that the new approach marked a departure from the previous system, where talent identification was largely centred on the federation’s major league competitions.

He said taking competitions to the regions would provide young players with greater opportunities to showcase their abilities while strengthening the foundation of handball across the country.

The HFN president also linked the grassroots initiative to Nigeria’s recent achievements in international handball, stressing the need to develop younger players who can eventually replace members of the current national teams.

He noted that Nigeria had qualified for the 2027 Men’s Junior Handball World Championship in North Macedonia, describing the achievement as evidence of the potential within the country’s handball system.

“How do we replace these players with upcoming players? This is the avenue for us to get players,” he said.

Seidu added that the federation was determined to make handball more visible and accessible, describing it as one of Nigeria’s major sporting disciplines with significant potential for growth.

The North Central tournament is part of a wider zonal programme designed to decentralise handball development across Nigeria.

According to the federation, similar competitions are being organised across other zones, including the South East, North East, North West and South South, with qualifiers from each zone expected to converge at a designated venue for the next stage of the competition.

The federation also appealed for greater support from sponsors, stakeholders and state associations to sustain its grassroots development programme.

It expressed appreciation to the participating states, academies, team sponsors and other stakeholders for their support and commitment to the growth of handball in Nigeria.

The federation said the initiative would provide a platform for discovering the next generation of Nigerian handball stars while expanding the sport’s reach beyond its traditional centres.
While Speaking the elated coach of Benue Queen Godwin Tondo has promised a stronger and more tactical performance after guiding the team to victory at the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship in Abuja.
He attributed the success to the team’s long-term youth development programme, noting that the squad was built through a deliberate process of identifying and nurturing young talents.
According to him, the programme began with the selection of 92 girls from secondary schools, who were subsequently trained and developed over a four-year period.

He said the team’s success was a product of sustained hard work and commitment despite the challenges encountered during preparations for the tournament.

“I feel very pleased being a champion today. The road to this stage was very, very hard, but I am very happy that we have got the result from all the toughness of the game,” he said.

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