Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Sports on Tuesday unanimously told the Minister of Sports, Senator John Owan Enoh, that his lamentations after Nigeria’s disastrous outing at the 2024 Paris Olympics are of no value and effect.
The lawmakers who were wholly disappointed in the comments/presentation of the minister concerning Nigeria’s Olympics no-medal show and other activities of the ministry in the past year vowed to get to the root of issues.
This is the House Committee on Sports under the Leadership of Honourable Kabiru Amadu has called for a robust planning strategy ahead of the next Olympics in 2028.
The Chairman stated this during his committee’s first official interactive meeting with the Minister of Sports, Senator John Enoh, on Tuesday at the National Assembly.
The Lawmaker Representing Gusau/Tsafe Federal constituency in the House of Representative, said Nigeria cannot afford to repeat what happened in Paris in the next four years, where the country did not win a single medal.
“Nigerian Sports has gone a long way over the years and it is totally unacceptable that we are still struggling with Podium finish at major global competitions.
“In fact, one of the reasons why this meeting was called was because of a motion of urgent importance that was put forward because of Team Nigeria’s bad outing at the Paris Olympics Games.
“As a Proactive Committee, the Committee has put together a Blueprint to help it’s oversight function as regards ways and means to revamp Nigerian Sports.
“This Committee is very determined to assist in all ways possible to help the Sports Ministry and the various Sporting Federations, especially in the area of funding,” he said.
The Chairman also used the occasion of the meeting to present a cheque of a N100 million to the sports minister and the President of the Nigeria Olympics Committee, Habu Gumel, which was the promise made made by the House of Representatives to Team Nigeria in the month of June ahead of the Paris Olympics Games.
The Chairman said he presented the cheque to the Minister on behalf of the Speaker of House, Honourable Tajudeen Abbas, emphasising that the money should serve as a financial base ahead of preparations for the 2028 Olympics Games.
The committee also used the session to appraise the 2023/2024 budget of the Ministry of Sports, where Committee members frowned at discrepancies observed in the budget and urged the ministry to put its House Together ahead of future meetings.