The proprietor of ABS football club, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has  thrown his weight behind the decision by  the Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission , Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi,  to  stop the kickoff of the 2012/2013 Nigeria Premier League season  until it  is restructured and all pending issues affecting sponsorship and television rights are resolved.

Speaking in Abuja over the weekend, Dr. Saraki, the former Executive Governor of Kwara Sate, now a sitting Senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, said he is confident that by the time Mallam Abdullahi‘s  restructuring team completes its assignment , the league will be a thing of joy to behold by all stakeholders.

‘’The decision to put the league on hold by the Minister until all contentious issues are resolved is the best thing that has happened to our football in recent memory.

As a stakeholder, I can tell Nigerians that despite increase in funding, there has been no corresponding improvement in the league.What we have now is a badly run league where the title goes to the highest bidder. It is a league where the administrators are feeding fat while the players and clubs suffer in the midst of plenty,” he said.

Senator Saraki asserted further that the NPL is fraught with under-hand dealings which are open to all stakeholders.                                          

‘’Most of the people managing our league do not have what it takes to run football today, the standard of managers and administrators of our league is very low,” he added.

Saraki posits that football and sports generally thrive on credibility.