The minister of sports development, Senator John Owan Enoh, has called on public servants in the country to imbibe and cultivate the culture of physical fitness and health consciousness towards ensuring a productive and healthy nation.
He gave the charge at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium during the weekend while flagging off the October edition of the monthly keep-fit aerobics exercise in preparation for the 2023 Federal Public Service Games (FEPSGA).
He assured the readiness of the Federal Ministry of Sports Development to collaborate and partner with any organisation or body to develop programmes and initiatives that will not only encourage sports development in the country especially in such areas as promotion of physical activity, raise awareness about the importance of fitness, and disseminate valuable health education information to all segments of the society with a view to improving their health status for optimal service delivery, but also, to provide the country’s teeming youth job opportunities and alleviate poverty amongst them with a view to having a safe and peaceful environment for Nigerians.
Senator Enoh said: “A healthy nation is a productive nation, and by enhancing fitness and health consciousness amongst the public servants we can contribute to the overall well-being of the citizens. Through effective collaboration between the Ministry and FEPSGA, we can come up with initiatives that target both the male and female adults in the public service that will encourage them to cultivate a culture of physical fitness and health consciousness,” he said.
According to him, one of the vital elements that Nigerians as a people continually miss in the sports sector is the physical fitness component, saying
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Administration is interested in this, which is why he added that the President out of his wisdom created a Ministry of Sports Development to holistically drive this aspect of human development in line with the International standards.
While commending the office of the head of the civil service of the federation and FEPSGA for initiating and sustaining the programmes even in the face of the current economic challenges, the minister called on the workers to take advantage of the programme to be mentally and physically fit for optimal performance in their respective offices and ease stress as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO)
In her remarks during the exercise, the head of the civil service of the federation Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, thanked the Sports Minister for flagging off the October edition of the monthly keep fit Aerobics exercise in preparation for the 2023 Federal Public Service Games.
Represented by the director occupational hazard and safety department, Dr Mrs Comfort Adeosun, Dr Yemi-Esan assured the workers that this year’s pillar which is number six, aims at improving the proposition and well being of the Federal Public Servants in the country, saying able workforce will be a productive workforce. “If you are not healthy, your performance will be low, thus affecting efficient service delivery to the citizenry”, Yemi-Esan said.
The former minister of youth and sports development, Barrister Solomon Dalung, who was one of the guest participants, advised civil servants to be resolute and not to lose hope in the present administration but continue to provide unflinching support to the new leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in its resolve to move the country forward.
