Super Eagles of Nigeria get charged by Mr. President

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday charged the Super Eagles to go all out during the Africa Cup of Nations holding in South Africa from Saturday and make the nation proud. Jonathan told the players and their handlers that their performance at the tournament “must reflect the nation’s status as the giant of Africa.” He gave the charge shortly after a presentation made by the Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, during the Federal Executive Council meeting. Abdullahi had intimated the President and members of the council of the level of preparation put in place by his ministry to ensure the team’s success during the competition. The Minister, who spoke with reporters afterwards, said the Super Eagles were in high spirits and were well prepared to triumph over their opponents.

“The FEC prayed for a successful outing for the Eagles. Mr. President also told us that the Eagles’ performance should reflect Nigeria’s status as giant of Africa. He said we should improve on our record of only winning the tournament twice. We appeal to Nigerians to support us,” the minister said. Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, said efforts were still ongoing to resolve the differences between the Confederation of African Football and broadcasting organisations on the broadcast rights of the tournament’s matches. Maku expressed the hope that the disagreement would be resolved early enough for Nigerians to be able to watch the matches live.