By Princess Simon (Bureau Chief North Central, in Minna)
Following the ultimatum by the League management to relocate Niger Tornadoes Football club's home matches from Minna to either Jos, Plateau state capital or Ilorin, Kwara state capital due to poor playing pitch, Niger state government has threatened to pull the team from the league if those in the Glass House, Abuja continues to dwell on trivialities above substance in Nigeria's football.
Chairman Niger State Sports Commission (NSSC), Danjuma Abdul Masu made the position of the state government while addressing Sports Writers at the Commission's Head office in Minna on Thursday, ahead of the state's maiden inter Collegiate Sports festival tagged, 'Bago Games'.
Masu said he can count not less than ten football pitches that the Bako Kontagora stadium Minna is better than and wondered why the nation's football management body is not looking at other stadiums with less facilities for sanctions.
Expressing frustrations Niger Tornadoes, Minna is facing from some sports administrators in Abuja he did not mention their names, Masu said, "Our Bako Kontagora memorial stadium is better than over ten stadiums currently playing in the League, and our playing tuff can compete with any other".
Masu who called for a level playing ground or an end to discriminations against some clubs reminded those dictating the pace in Nigeria's football that Niger state has about forty sporting events hence nobody should think that the state has no other sports than football to focus on.
The NSSC chairman decried that, "The Television right contract takes effect next year, so why use that as a smokescreen to forcefully evict a team from her home ground without any justifiable reason".
He said, "If they think we will go and beg them, they may be in for shocks, we will just pull out, afterall football is just one sport out of over 16 Sporting Associations that makes up Sports".
Meanwhile, Niger state government has concluded arrangements for its first inter-Collegiate sporting festival, and a total of over 500 students from 11 tatiary institutions in the state have registered for the games scheduled to kick off between Monday, 9th and -15th February, 2026 at the Abdulkadri Kure University Minna.
So far, about seven Universities in the state consisting of two State Universities, Two federal Universities and three private Universities has entered for the week long sports championship, the NSSC chairman, Danjuma Masu revealed.
Niger state has a crowded sporting calender for the year, 2026 as the inter secondary school games will hold by April, followed by the primary schools game between June/July, and another state wide sporting events to select the State contingent for the National Sports Fstival (NSF) taking place later in the year in Enugu state.
As a way of encouraging sports men and women in various sporting events, Danjuma Masu said winners of the inter collegiate games in each of the eleven events to be competed for will get automatic qualification ticket to participate in the state's maiden sports festival for a space at the NSF.
In addition, the overall winners will be presented with a giant trophy and each participant will be given some souvenirs and a certificate of participation while golf medalist stands the chance of automatic scholarship. NNL.
