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The Minister of Sports Barrister Solomon Dalung, has said the planned valedictory match for the Super Eagles before jetting out of the country for the World Cup in Russia would be played as scheduled.
The Super Eagles are billed to face DR Congo in a friendly match on Monday, May 28 in Port Harcourt but the outbreak of the dreaded Ebola virus in the Central African country led to many expressing doubt about the fixture holding.
However, the Sports Minister while speaking with State House correspondents on Monday, listed measures that have been taken to ensure the match goes on and at the same time avoid the contagious disease being brought into Nigeria.
“Nigeria is going to play the friendly with DRC, I have discussed with the Federal Ministry of Health with the World Health Organization in participation, we have reviewed the situation and received adequate information about it,” Mr Dalung said.
The minister further explained the steps that will be taken to keep the epidemic from Nigeria.
“So we have agreed on major approaches. One, the DRC team is coming through a chartered flight and those coming for the match will be using that chartered flight and they would have been screened from the DRC and they will be screened here in Nigeria,” he said.
“There is going to be no other person that is going to be admitted using any other means of transportation for the match.
“We also discovered that the Ebola outbreak is limited to a particular place and it has not escalated. So, we wouldn’t want to run the risk of setting a precedent of which we will later be a victim.”
Mr Dalung said based on the strict measures already in place, there was no need to fear and the match can go on unhindered.