TRENDING: Dalung says Olympics funds ‘spended’ were properly ‘spended’
Solomon Dalung, minister of youths and sports, is in the news again for the wrong reason.
Last week, his ministry was spotlighted for the failure of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) to pay the Super Falcons their entitlements during their qualifying phase and their participation at the African Women Cup of Nations (AWCON), which they eventually won.
This time, Dalung appeared before the house of representatives committee on sports to defend allocations to the sports ministry.
Although that session held on Friday, a video of the encounter began trending over the weekend, largely because Dalung told the committee that the 2016 Olympics funds ‘spended’ by the ministry were properly “spended”.
“Before we left for Rio, we wrote and requested for the release of monies appropriated for in the budget and it has not been released for the federations,” he said.
“Four hundred and fifty million naira was appropriated for Olympics, then we spent far far far beyond that, so… monies that were given to the federation could not have been monies meant for Olympics.”
Danburam Nuhu , a member of the committee, observed that the ministry ought not to spend beyond the funds approved by the national assembly.
“It’s a serious matter Mr Chairman, because he’s spending outside the confines of the approval given by the national assembly,” Nuhu said.
But Dalung responded: “The funds spended were properly spended because we got them from intervention funds.
“We got these funds from intervention funds from Mr. president.”
See the full video below.
Video credit: ChannelsTelevision
Indeed, the scout boy called Sports Minister is a confirmed clown unfit for any serious national assignment. By the way, Dalung’s cluelessness and frivolity are just emblematic of the entire Buhari government that appointed him.
Correct. Square peg in a round hole.
Abeg make dey leave the man alone. Oyibo people should stop confusing people wit their grammar. If past tense of suspend is suspended, why can’t the past tense of spend not be spended closed… Haba!
i wonder o
Banana government
Like presido like minister.
It is very preposterous that a minister in buhari’s lead government does not know the rudiments of English. That’s why nothing is moving. All the ministries are occupied by mediocres, check out the minister for economy, power agriculture and others.
Sorry John-Erik, pointing out his lack of grammar is shameful, of the person being referred to not of the person pointing it out. The person you’re calling out, Adeyemi, is clearly from Nigeria and he has all the right in the world to correct his countryman. If Adeyemi can get it right, why can an elected government official, tasked with spending that country’s citizen’s paid tax money, not know the correct word, or worse, not care to? His first language is irrelevant, he’s speaking publicly and to an international audience, on behalf of his government, which in turn speaks on behalf of it’s citizenry. English, like it or not, is the defacto standard language for international communication and when making public statements, the international community expects them to be in English. The Nigerian government is obviously aware of this, as the statement was attempted in English and not their native first language. As the international community will clearly be partly saddened but even more amused by this incident, does it really seem racist of Adeyemi to point out and correct the speakers mistake? Keeping in mind, of course, that both Adeyemi and the speaker are both of the same race and the same country.