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.