The minister of youth and sports development, Mr Sunday Dare, has assured Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF) of the federal government’s support in the quest to give a new lease of life to the game of golf in the country.
The minister, who gave the assurance yesterday while speaking to delegates from over 70 golf clubs and other critical stakeholders from across the country at the First Nigeria Golf Federation Summit holding at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, admitted that the golf federation has not been joying financial support it deserves from the government and promised that will change soon.
He directed the Otunba Olusegun Runsewe-led NGF to bring back the Nigeria Golf Open which has stopped since 1999, saying what is happening in America and other climes should be domesticated in Nigeria.
The Minister also assured the 16-year-old Nigerian girl Iyeneobong Essien who finished second at the recent Champion of Champions World Golf Championship Invitational in Northern Ireland and other talented athletes will be entered into the talent hunt programmes of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development for support.
Dare while urging the Federation to unearth more talented golfers for Nigeria, commended the Otunba Olusegun Runsewe-led NGF for putting together the 2-day first national golf summit, saying it was long overdue for the captains of golf clubs and lovers of golf in the country to brainstorm on the way forward for the game.
Declaring the summit open, Plateau State governor, Simon Bako Lalong, appealed to the NGF to improve on the hosting of competitions across the country and also harnessing the participation of Nigerian golfers in international competitions.
He said this is necessary because the game of golf in Nigeria must move from being a leisure sport to a money making exercise as obtained abroad.
Governor Lalong also called for synergy between the government, private sector and the golfing community in the country towards ensuring that the game is put on the front burner of sporting activities in Nigeria.
He expressed hope that the 2-day summit would enable the Captains to come up with various strategies on how to demystify the sport and let people know that it is not an exclusive sport of the elite.
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