Yesterday, May 29, marked the first year anniversary of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration and the government as expected rolled out their achievements in sports in the last one year in office.
The scorecard was contained in a 4-page document titled ‘The Progress So Far,’ made available to LEADERSHIP Sports in Abuja on Tuesday.
The document, signed by Diana Mary Nsan, special assistant on media to the minister of sports development, Senator John Owan Enoh, said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s qualitative leadership was demonstrated in the demerger of sports from other sectors. “For the first time in the nation, a Federal Ministry of Sports Development was established to explore the potential in the sports sector, potentials which will impact significantly on the nation’s growth along the lines of creating employment opportunities, curbing insecurity and contributing to the nations GDP,” Nsan said.
According to Nsan, to gain a firm grasp of the sports sector, Senator Enoh performed a critical analysis of Nigeria’s sports, identified problems and opportunities, engaged stakeholders extensively, and began implementing policies to bring about enduring systemic change.
These policies, which include but are not limited to enabling a welfare system that caters for serving and retired athletes, as well as an annual recognition platform, she said, were revolutionary that led to accelerated development of sports in the country.
“With Senator Enoh’s priority presentation to the Presidency, President Tinubu cleared all the debts accumulated by the past administration in the funding of football, in excess of N12 billion. This demonstrates a significant commitment to looking out for the welfare of sportsmen and women. The money was transferred directly into the coffers of the NFF, as the minister’s first motivation in politics has never been greed. He runs on a transparency module. At the time of this publication, the figures for financial interventions have climbed to about 17 billion naira as the welfare of athletes is a priority under the renewed Hope agenda of President Tinubu.
“Transparency and openness in the disbursement of athletes’ funds, by paying through the apex bank for the 13th All Africa Games. This policy ensures that no athlete is shortchanged. This genuine change experienced some teething problems in the form of delays in payment of a few athletes, but it is all sorted now.
