BENIN CITY – History has been made in Nigeria football league as a seating deputy governor of Edo state Rt Hon Philip Shaibu featured for Bendel Insurance FC against Spartan of Lagos in their last league match of the season .
The deputy governor with jersey No.40 was introduced in the second half of the game as replacement for Kingsley Onovo . He was immediately given captain handband ,thus leading the Benin side in the one all draw game.
The Benin Arsenal then finished top of NNL Group B1 with 30 points.
In the entertaining Lagos encounter, Insurance came back from one goal down to level up in 70 minutes of play after Ugwu Michael fired a volley past the Spartan goalkeeper to cancel Spartans’ first half goal.
Speaking after the match, the deputy governor praised his boys and expressed satisfaction with the result. He described the team as young and work in progress whose target is gaining promotion to the country’s top flight league.
The chief coach of the team Baldwin Bazuaye while also speaking expressed delight over the result and for finishing leader of their group. He said it was God’s divine arrangement. He congratulated the players and Edo government for the club’s achievement this season.
Insurance , undoubtedly proved their critics wrong this season, haven finished top of NNL group with 30 points ahead premier league obsessed Shooting stars of Ibadan. The Insurers are a foot in the Nigeria Professional Football League(NPFL) as they await football authority’s decision on super 8 playoff or not.
