The Federal Government has inaugurated Boards of Sports Federations for the next Olympic circle.
Inaugurating members of the various boards, the Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, charged them to take up the task of deepening the development of Sports under their care.
He urged them to work as a team to achieve the goals and objectives of the board and thanked them for what he termed their patriotism and will to voluntarily be part of the National assignment without any form of remuneration.
The Minister, underscored government’s determination for open up the Sports sector to public private partnerships so as to enhance the fortunes of Sports in Nigeria as envisaged in the spirit of the emerging new national sports policy and the Federal Executive Council’s reclassification of Sports as business rather that recreation.
Minister Dare, further charged the members to be guided by established procedures and the code of governance of national Sports Federations in the discharge of their responsibilities.
Earlier, the President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, NOC, Engineer Ahmed Gumel, said the inauguration is a clear indication that Nigeria’s Sports system has come of age and embraced internationally accepted mode of operation.
He reminded them that at least thirty percent of the boards must be women to make it balanced and promised that the NOC has different types of scholarships, aids and grants that will assist athletes and their coaches excell.
Engr. Gumel, charged the boards to beam their search lights on doping and abide by the National and international guidelines against doping which has become a global problem.
Others who spoke on the occasion include the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, Alhaji Ismail Abubakar and the Chairman of the wrestling board, who spoke on behalf of others, Daniel Igali, harped on the need to utilise the reconstruction of the boards as a machinery to achieving success in the sports industry.
