Nigerian billionaire, Tony Elumelu, has reportedly expressed interest in purchasing a club in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) following discussions with Senator John Owan Enoh, the minister of Sports Development.
Tony Elumelu, a 61-year-old Nigerian economist and philanthropist, chairs Heirs Holdings, Transcorp, and United Bank for Africa (UBA) hinted at this prospect during discussions surrounding private ownership of clubs in Nigeria.
In response to a suggestion by X user LawyerDay, proposing that big corporations in Nigeria should acquire league clubs as part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Elumelu acknowledged the idea positively.
He disclosed that he, along with other prominent figures in the country, has been contacted by the minister to evaluate the feasibility of such acquisitions to further develop the league.
“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?”
Tony Elumelu responded to the suggestion by saying; “This is a nice idea,” accompanied by a thumbs-up emoji, and added, “The Sports Minister, Senator John Enoh @OwanEnoh, is already thinking along this line and has approached me, and we are already evaluating viability.”
Tony Elumelu is one of the wealthiest men in Nigeria and Africa and is said to be worth billions. He made his wealth from investments in financial services, real estate, hospitality, healthcare, power, oil, and gas.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
