April 08, (THEWILL) – After 28 years, the Federal Government has finally fulfilled the pledge of assigning residences to the victorious 1994 Africa Cup of Nations Super Eagles’ Team.
On Friday, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, handed over the Certificate of Occupancy (CoO) of three-bedroom Federal Government residences to each team member during a ceremony in Abuja.
It followed a March 7 pledge of the Federal Government to fulfil the Nigerian government’s promise to the team by delivering 76 housing units to the Nasarawa State government.
When the Super Eagles Squad won the African Cup of Nations in Tunis, Tunisia, in 1994, the then-military government of Gen. Sani Abacha made the promise, which had remained unfulfilled until 2022.
According to Fashola, it was a chance to recall the heroism of the gallant Super Eagles and to keep a national promise. Speaking at the occasion, the Minister said: “We arrange with members who were beneficiaries to choose where they will be allocated and we anticipated that it is possible we will give you allocation letters.
“We decided that we will be handing over at the commissioning site so that there are no more gaps to fill. We promised this and we will want to make sure that it does not delay any further.
“So you heard that Emanuel Amuneke and others have been given their own during the commissioning and so now this is what we are planning for you. Some of you were absent during the commissioning.
“So we invited you here to come and collect your certificates so that you will have your documents and your keys will be presented to you.
“The others in Uyo and a few other states will get their own as planned. The beneficiaries will get their titled documents and the keys at the sites. We planned that this will be done in a conducive environment so that there will be no more loopholes.
“And indeed, we found out that the name of Finidi George was not included and we told Mr President and I’m sure that he will provide remedy for that.’’
In response, the team’s goalkeeper, Peter Rufai, stated he felt demoralised and pained for the length of years they had to wait and hope for their houses to be delivered to them. The goalie said: “To be honest, it was not easy thinking about it. I thank President Muhammadu Buhari for taking the bold step in making sure that we get this promise made to us 28 years ago.
“I also want to use this platform to show my appreciation to the Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare for the effort he put into this to ensure that today we are here to receive these houses.
“Again to our minister of works, we say a big thank you to you; as you all know, some of our colleagues are not present to see this happen and their loved ones have come here to collect on their behalf.
“With this any other upcoming child, sport men or women in any department of sports, be it football or athletics now has hope that whenever I am selected to represent Nigeria, I will give all my best and be rewarded.
“And I pray that this system continues so that we will see the beauty of our men and women, it doesn’t matter your field and we will also be happy with our leaders.’’
Rufai, Steven Elema, Isaac Semitoje, and Sunday Oliseh, who was represented by his brother Albert Oliseh, were among the players who received their CoOs at the occasion.
Others included Victor Ikpeba, Chief Anthony Okeleke, Uche Okafor, who was represented by his daughter Tochukwu Okafor, and Austine Eguavoen, the former Super Eagles’ Technical Adviser.
Unfortunately, Yekini, Uche Okafor, Thompson Oliha, Wilfred Agbonavbare, and Keshi, who helped the team to glory in the competition, have died without seeing the promise come to life in their lifetimes.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
