Minister Pledges Commitment To Holistic Sports Development
As Nigerian Ministers mark 100 days in office, the Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh has pledged to step up his holistic drive to reposition sports in the country.
The Minister made the pledge in Abuja at a media conference to mark his 100 days in office. He said the last 100 days had been laced with meeting stakeholders with a view to setting a clear direction on sports development in the country.
Enoh reiterated his administration’s resolve to focus on grassroots development, infrastructure, training and implementation of the National Sports Industry Policy (NSIIP).
“What we have chosen to do (on this 100 days in office) is to have a meeting at the ministry’s level, with all departments and directors and provide a clear direction about what the focus is and what the future looks like,” Enoh said.
“What we are trying to do is to open up the sector in terms of engagement with stakeholders, we want to navigate the sports eco-system.”
Yesterday marked my 100 days in office as Minister of Sports Development.
I owe Nigerians an update of the past 100 days and a direction. To that effect, I held a media parley. The interactive session afforded me the opportunity to reflect on the journey so far and to give… pic.twitter.com/51cLWMOuqy— Senator John Owan Enoh (@OwanEnoh) November 30, 2023
The minister said going forward, fostering grassroots development, establishing a functional Anti-Doping Commission, restructuring the National Institute for Sports (NIS) and implementation of the NISP would take the front burner.
“We are committed to the submission of the National Anti-Doping Commission Establishment Bill to the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly for ratification within the forthcoming weeks,” Enoh added.
“Having a legislation that sets up the National Anti-Doping Commission is going to be one of the clearest and strongest actions that the country would have taken to tackle doping.”
Enoh also stressed the need to monitor and nurture young athletes discovered from the annual National Youth Games (NYG) and ensure better funding/efficiency for the sports federations.
He called on all stakeholders to join the ministry in its efforts to reposition the sports sector in line with global best practices.
Enoh assumed duty as the 36th Minister of Sports Development on August 21st, with a pledge to reposition the sports sector.