ACP Gideon Akinsola, Super Eagles CSO

It was another time for backslapping in the Super Eagles camp during the week when the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Dikko Abubakar, announced the appointment of national team’s Chief Security Officer and FIFA Security Officer in Nigeria, ACP Gideon Akinsola as the Chairman of a five-man committee to reform police sports.

Other members of the committee are CSP Peter Nwagbara, SP Tunde Shodimu, DSP Abass Abdulahi and ASP Togun Michael.

Announcing the appointments on Tuesday, IGP Abubakar, who himself is a former board member of the Nigeria Football Association, said he has watched the steady decline of sports in the police and feels there was a need for urgent reforms, hence the setting up of the committee.

The police is known to have produced such international stars as Olympic gold medallist Chioma Ajunwa, late quarter miler Sunday Bada, also an Olympic gold medallists and former WBC world heavyweight champion, Samuel Peter among others.

ACP Akinsola, who has already broken the news to Head Coach, Stephen Keshi has been congratulated and wished a splendid job under the one-month duration that his committee has been asked to fulfil its mandate.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation has congratulated ACP, Gideon Olusegun Akinsola for his appointment by the Inspector General of Police as the Chairman of the Sports Committee of Nigeria Police Force.

“We are delighted by the appointment because ACP Akinsola has been around for some time now and has worked very hard each time in coordinating security arrangements for all football-related programmes in the country,” said NFF President Aminu Maigari.