Former Delta State governor, Dr Emmanuel Ugduaghan has advocated for more efforts in development of Nigerian sports from the grassroots, as he says that is the way to secure future prospects for the country.
Uduaghan was speaking during his investiture as a patron of Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), a position he was glad to accept in order to further contribute towards enhanced progress of sports in the country.
The former governor, who is now a senatorial candidate, also called on government at various levels and stakeholders to support grassroots sports in Nigeria.
He also advocated the return of an active National Sports Commission (NSC) for the nation to excel in the continental and global terrains.
Uduaghan stated further that, for any nation to succeed and stay at the top in sports, it must support and develop talents from the community level, because there are a wealth of raw future stars the grassroots.
He cited the example being churned out by Delta State, where he admitted he was proud to oversee the production of some of Nigeria’s biggest stars of the current generation in various sporting events.
Uduaghan added: “I want to thank the NOC for finding us worthy to be patrons of the Olympic body.
“This is a call to service and by the grace of God, we shall all work together to deliver on our mandate.
“No doubt, when it comes to sports and developing talents in Nigeria, Delta State has done well.
“In my tenure as governor, three sports festivals were held in Nigeria and we won two.
“We have developed a lot of talents through our grassroots sports development initiatives.
“For instance, Blessing Okagbare, one of Nigeria’s sport icons was discovered from our grassroots sports programme and we supported her to the international level.
“My recommendation is that there must be grassroots sports development and also an active National Sports Commission to be manned by professionals for Nigeria to attain greater heights in terms of sports.”
