The Sports and Youth Development Minister Sunday Dare has received an award for his contributions to sports development in Nigeria and the Olympic movement.
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The Outstanding Youth and Sports Minister Award was presented to Dare by the Executive Board of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) led by its President, Engineer Habu Gumel in Abuja on Wednesday.
Gumel highlighted “the numerous and outstanding achievements as the captain of Nigerian sports and Minister of Youth and Sports Development” including the emergence of the National Sports Industry Policy (NSIP), Adopt initiative, revamping of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), payment of monthly stipends to the families of departed sports icons as well as providing financial support to ailing former and active athletes.
According to the NOC President, “another remarkable legacy was the delivery of the Headquarters and Secretariat of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa(ANOCA) by the Federal Government of Nigeria which was commissioned by the President of the International Olympic Committee(IOC), Dr Thomas Bach.”
In his response, the Minister attributed the successes he recorded to the support he received from the sports federations because of their direct dealings with the athletes.
Dare said, “I salute the resilience of the sports federations, their sacrifices and work in developing sports in Nigeria deserve commendation. In spite of all the challenges of funding, they still turn up for international competitions thereby giving the athletes the needed exposure and training required to compete at the elite level and you all know that without these athletes, nothing is possible in sports. There will be no achievements.”
The Sports Minister, Sunday Dare also identified funding as one of the biggest challenges of sports development in Nigeria, a problem, he believes the newly approved National Sports Industry Policy (NSIP) will alleviate.
“The incentives outlined in the Sports as Business Policy have been approved and will be announced soon. The technical committee has put the finishing touches to the document and it will become fully operational soon.
“This will drive private sector support for sports and there will be a massive turnaround as the funding issues will be confronted headlong.
‘In the last four years, Sports moved from being a third-tier ministry to being a first-tier one. Apart from this, under the Federal Government’s National Development Plan(NDP), sports will receive N80 billion for the next four years. A plan is in place to make sure a percentage of this fund goes directly to the sports federations.
“Just a few weeks back, the Federal Government approved N2.4 billion for a High-Performance Centre to be established inside the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja and before then, there is the Anti Doping Centre to be established in Nsukka, Enugu State.”
He commended the Nigeria Olympic Committee(NOC) for offering scholarships to many Nigerian athletes, ensuring they combine their participation in sports with education.
Speaking earlier at the event, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Sports and Youth Development, Alhaji Ismaila Abubakar thanked the Minister for his wonderful performance in office, wishing him well in his future endeavours while calling for stronger cooperation with the Olympic family.
