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“This Is the Kind of Investment That Can Change the Future of Nigerian Football” — SSA Adeboye Impressed by Bariga Football Facility
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, Hon. Adeyinka Anthony Adeboye, has described the emerging Bariga football development project as the kind of private and community-driven investment Nigeria needs to strengthen the pathway from grassroots football to the national and international stage.
Adeboye spoke during a courtesy visit to the facilities of Bariga Stars Football Club, a grassroots football initiative founded by Hon. Alabi Kolade David (AKD), the immediate past Executive Chairman of Bariga Local Council Development Area and the All-Progressives Congress candidate for Somolu Federal Constituency. Alabi emerged as the APC candidate following the party’s May 2026 primary.
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The visit allowed the Presidential aide to inspect the work already carried out at the facility, as well as equipment being assembled for what is envisioned as a development camp for promising young footballers.
Upon completion, the project is expected to provide a structured environment for the identification, camping and development of U-15 and U-16 male and female football talents drawn from different parts of Nigeria.
Adeboye, who inspected different sections of the facility, expressed satisfaction with the level of work and investment already committed to the project, describing it as an encouraging example of what can happen when individuals and communities deliberately invest in young people through sport.
“What I have seen here is impressive because this is not just about putting up a football facility. It is about creating a home where young talents can be identified, brought together, properly trained and given an opportunity to develop.”
The SSA said the proposed focus on U-15 and U-16 players aligns strongly with his Office’s grassroots development mandate, particularly the drive to establish clearer pathways through which talented youngsters can progress from communities and schools into organised competitive football.
Adeboye was particularly encouraged by the decision to make the project available to both boys and girls, stressing that Nigeria’s grassroots football development must deliberately create equal opportunities for talented young female footballers.
“I am happy that the vision here includes both male and female players. If we are serious about the future of Nigerian football, we cannot leave anyone behind. Somewhere in our communities today are the boys and girls who can become the next generation of Super Eagles and Super Falcons players. Our responsibility is to find them early and give them the right environment to grow.”
The Bariga project is not Alabi’s first intervention in grassroots sports. While serving as Executive Chairman of Bariga LCDA, he publicly identified inadequate sports infrastructure as one of the obstacles facing talented youngsters in the community and initiated sports-facility projects to address the problem. In June 2025, his administration commenced work on the CMS Primary School Sports Complex, planned with a football field, track, tennis, volleyball and basketball courts, gym, changing rooms and other facilities.
Bariga Stars FC was subsequently publicly presented as a grassroots initiative established by Alabi to discover, nurture and promote football talents. Its 2025 trials attracted aspiring footballers and sports stakeholders, further demonstrating the project’s focus on talent identification.
Adeboye said such continuity was important because sustainable grassroots development cannot depend solely on occasional competitions or talent hunts.
According to him, identifying a gifted 15-year-old is only the beginning; the bigger responsibility is creating the coaching, facilities, education, competition, welfare and progression pathway required to ensure that the talent does not disappear.
“Nigeria has never lacked football talent. Our challenge has always been what happens after we discover them. Who trains them? Where do they stay? What competitions do they play? How are they monitored? How do they move to the next level? These are the questions a serious grassroots development system must answer.”
During the visit, Alabi indicated his desire to establish a working partnership between the Bariga football project and the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, with the objective of identifying and producing young talents capable of representing Nigeria in the future.
Adeboye welcomed the proposed collaboration, saying partnerships between government, communities, private investors, clubs and development academies would be critical to building a sustainable national talent pipeline.
“The Office of the SSA cannot develop grassroots sports alone, and government cannot do it alone. We need people who are prepared to invest in facilities, coaching and young athletes. When we find genuine projects that share this vision, there is room to explore how we can work together within the appropriate framework.”
He added that the ultimate measure of projects such as Bariga Stars should not simply be the beauty of their facilities, but the number of young lives they are able to transform.
“I want to return here in the years ahead and see young players who passed through this facility wearing the colours of Nigeria. That should be the dream. When a boy or girl enters here at 15 or 16, there must be a pathway that can take that child as far as his or her talent and hard work will allow.”
Adeboye said the initiative reflects the broader grassroots philosophy being promoted under the sports agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, where sports development is increasingly viewed not only through medals and national teams but also through youth empowerment, talent development and sustainable opportunities.
For the Presidential aide, the Bariga visit ultimately reinforced a message he has consistently carried across the country: Nigeria’s next generation of champions already exists at the grassroots; what they need is the structure, facilities and opportunity to be discovered.
“The talent is already there. What we must build is the pathway. If projects like this are properly developed and connected to a wider national talent-development system, then we will not have to keep asking where the next generation of Nigerian footballers will come from.”
The Nigeria Police Force has confirmed the arrest of a 22-year-old man, Umar Ibrahim Gandi Maradun, over a viral video allegedly showing him calling for the use of AK-47 rifles to kill Christians in Enugu and Plateau states.
Politics Nigeria reports that the suspect, a native of Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State, was arrested for investigation after the video circulated on social media and sparked concerns over religiously motivated violence.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, the Force Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Ani Iniedu, said the Zamfara State Police Command had activated its intelligence resources to identify those involved in the incident.
The police also confirmed that the command had engaged the leadership of Jama’atu Izalatil Bidi’a Wa’ikamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS) at the national and state levels following the emergence of the video.
According to the police, the organisation disassociated itself from the alleged conduct and handed the suspect over to the authorities for investigation.
The video reportedly showed the suspect wearing JIBWIS uniform and appearing alongside pupils from two Islamic schools in Maradun: Nurul Islam Islamiya and Akidatul Sahiha Islamiya.
Preliminary findings by the Zamfara State Police Command indicated that the video was recorded on Friday, October 23, 2026, while the suspect was reportedly on his way to Aliyu Ibn Abi Thalib Mosque, where he and others allegedly provided security during Friday prayers and preaching.
The suspect was born on September 15, 2004. He reportedly attended Mualledi Model Primary School and Government Day Secondary School, both in Maradun.
He also reportedly joined JIBWIS in 2025 and recently gained admission to study Mass Communication at Zamfara State University, Talata Mafara.
The police said a comprehensive investigation had commenced and that the suspect would be charged before a competent court if sufficient evidence established an offence under applicable law.
Earlier, the Zamfara State Commissioner of Police, Bello, said the investigation would consider allegations of incitement to violence, disturbance of public peace and criminal intimidation under Sections 77, 78 and 380(b) of the Penal Code Law applicable in the state, subject to the evidence gathered and applicable law.
The police also condemned statements capable of promoting religious hatred, threatening community safety or undermining peaceful coexistence.
“The Zamfara State Police Command remains resolute in its duty to uphold the law, protect lives and property, defend the rights of all citizens without discrimination, and work with relevant stakeholders to sustain peace and security throughout Zamfara State,” the commissioner said.
The development comes as JIBWIS has publicly distanced itself from the video and condemned calls for violence against non-Muslims.
The group’s National Publicity Secretary, Sheikh Ahmad Muhammad Ashiru, stated this in a statement issued at its headquarters in Jos on Tuesday.
Ashiru said the organisation had yet to establish the authenticity of the video but maintained that its position against violence was clear.
“We are yet to confirm whether the video is authentic, but our position against violence remains clear,” he said.
He added that JIBWIS, under the leadership of Ash-Sheikh Muhammad Sani Yahaya Jingir, would not support calls to attack or kill anyone because of their religious affiliation.
Ashiru said banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and Boko Haram attacks were already affecting communities across the country, warning that statements promoting violence could heighten tensions and threaten peaceful coexistence.
“We would not support any call capable of disturbing the peace of Nigeria, as such comments are capable of inciting violence and creating unnecessary tension among Nigerians,” he said.
The JIBWIS spokesperson stressed that anyone making such statements in the organisation’s name did not represent its position.
He urged security agencies to investigate the video, establish its authenticity and identify those responsible, adding that anyone found culpable should face the law after a proper investigation.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police Force has urged members of the public to remain calm, avoid circulating unverified information and refrain from sharing the video in ways that could escalate religious tensions.
The Force reiterated its commitment to protecting Nigerians irrespective of religious affiliation and taking lawful action against conduct capable of inciting hatred or threatening public peace.
Senator Victor Umeh has accused Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo of acting out of envy and hatred towards presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr Peter Obi.
Umeh claimed that Soludo was trying to surpass Obi's political record, insisting that the former Anambra governor remained more popular than his successor in the state and across Nigeria.
The senator made the remarks on Tuesday while fielding questions on Channels Television's Politics Today programme.
Umeh, who said he attended the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, alongside Obi and Soludo between 1980 and 1984, suggested that their shared academic background might have contributed to what he described as peer envy.
He said, “He (Peter Obi) cannot be drawn to what is called the peer envy and hate. You know, all of us were in the university together. Myself, Soludo, Peter Obi. We were at the University of Nigeria from 1980 to 1984, all of us graduated the same day.
“So sometimes when you see people talk, they talk out of maybe peer envy. He (Soludo) is running after Peter Obi's record.”
The senator further argued that Obi remained more popular than Soludo despite the latter's position as governor of Anambra State.
“Whether he likes it or not, today, no matter what Soludo does, Peter Obi will continue to be more popular than him, both in Nigeria and in Anambra State. Go there and see,” Umeh added.
Obi served as governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014. Soludo became governor in 2022.
‘Envy, hate behind Soludo’s attacks on Peter Obi’ – Senator Umeh
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