Speaking in an interview on Channels Television, Dalung said Sunday Dare who replaced him as the sports minister in 2019, lacks the “patriotic political will to consolidate on the gains on the ground” hence the reason for Team Nigeria’s numerous disappointments in Tokyo.

He also faulted Dare’s dissolution of the boards of federations less than three months to the 2020 Olympic Games.

Dalung said “I think the dissolution of boards. It is a lack of patriotic political will to consolidate on the gains on the ground. When I was the minister, I continued from where my predecessor ended. When we get to the field, we built on previous successes and Nigeria did very well. Dissolving federations three months to the Olympics is an indication that we are not prepared for the Olympics. No general dissolves his troops on the eve of an attack and expect to win a war. The dissolved boards have trained and catered for the athletes for more than two years. Crises are part of human existence, the management is what determines the quality of leadership. I inherited many crises, but I resolved them. Leadership is about taking responsibility. When things go wrong, somebody has to be responsible. The entire drama of shame is avoidable. This is a shame that the country has found itself.”

Dalung made the claim while speaking at the first National Conference of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Bauchi State chapter, with the theme “Insecurity, Economic Growth and Governance Triangle: Nigeria in Focus” held in Bauchi.

According to the former Minister, the trend had continued to put the lives of innocent citizens in danger on a daily basis. He stated that unless such bad leaders eschewed sentiments and reset their cultural values, the security challenges bedevilling the nation will be difficult to surmount.