Sports
Ekeji Promises Credibility In Sports Administration
Patrick Ekeji, Director-General, National Sports Commission (NSC), says the commission will pursue the restoration of credibility to sports administration in the country.
Ekeji made the pledge in Abuja at the weekend while receiving handover notes from Alhaji Sani Ndanusa, the former Sports Minister and Chairman of the NSC.
All ministers, including Ndanusa, were affected by the dissolution of the Federal Executive Council last Wednesday by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan.
Ekeji said the case of the missing 236,000 dollars at the secretariat of the Nigeria Football Federation was a matter the commission would tackle soon.
“The matter is not closed yet and the recommendations of the White Paper on the issue will be revisited and we will act accordingly,” he said.
The money was reportedly missing from the safe of the NFF on March 19 and five suspects arrested in connection with it have been arraigned.
The director-general said part of the credibility restoration was the issue of litigation regarding elections into the Board of the Nigeria Premier League.
“We have already looked into that matter and we are stepping in to ensure that we do not have a series of conflicts disrupting the smooth running of sports in our land,” he said.
Ekeji assured Ndanusa that the NSC would continue with the policies and ideas he put in place during his 14-month tenure.
“We will ensure that those policies you enunciated are continued during your short break because we know that they have helped to uplift sports in Nigeria,” he said.
The NSC director-general lauded Ndanusa for bringing about what he described as positive changes in the administration of sports.
“There are so many legacies you left behind such as the tax rebate and community sports centres.
“What you did in a short period is more than what was achieved by three past sports ministers put together,” he said.
Ndanusa, before handing over, had asked for forgiveness from all NSC staff as well as from other members of the sports family.
“Not all drivers are good but it is important that all passengers agree with him. This you did and I thank you all for bearing with me and supporting me.
“However, I apologise if there were mistakes on my part. They were not intentional but necessary in my quest to re-engineer Nigerian sports,” he said.
The former minister expressed satisfaction that he had brought about a change in sports administration during the period he was in charge.
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.