Billionaire banker and Chairman of United Bank for Africa, Tony Elumelu, has described the possibility of acquiring one of the local clubs of the Nigeria Professional Football League as a nice idea.
Elumelu made this known on Monday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle.
The billionaire businessman was reacting to an X user’s suggestion that top businessmen and top corporations should acquire the Nigeria league clubs to drive competition.
Earlier on Tuesday, the X user, LawyerDayo, said, “Can we get the President and Ministry of Sport to weigh in on the big corporations in Nigeria to buy at least one league club as part of CSR? Imagine Dangote buys Kano Pillars, BUA buys Kwara United, Elumelu acquires Rivers United, and Geregu takes over 3SC. Imagine the competition.”
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Replying to the suggestion, Elumelu, via his account, confirmed that the Federal Government, via the Sports Minister, had reached out to him for a possible acquisition of certain NPFL clubs and they were working on it.
He said, “This is a nice idea. The Sports Minister, Senator John Enoh @OwanEnoh, is already thinking along this line and has approached me and we are already evaluating viability.”
The NPFL is the highest level of club football in the Nigerian football league system.
Like many others, the league has suffered from the financial impact and dwindling fortunes since the late 2000s.