THE Minister of Sports Development, John Owan Enoh, has set medal targets for the heads of national sports federations in the country.
The minister also charted a roadmap for sporting activities in 2024 at a meeting with the presidents of the national sports federations on Thursday, January 11, in Abuja.
On January 7, the ICIR reported the global prizes the country would target in 2024.
At the Abuja meeting, focused on federations’ roadmap, medals projection, challenges and the way forward towards better performances at competitions, Enoh called for a healthy working relationship with the sports federations’ presidents and the Ministry of Sports Development.
As part of preparations for the forthcoming African Games and Olympic/Paralympic Games in 2024, he expressed the ministry’s commitment to exploring all available options, including holding periodic meetings with stakeholders and encouraging processes that would lead to amendments of relevant laws to ensure that sports receive the desired stimulus that it needs for better performance.
“Looking at where we are coming from, there is no reason why we should not hold periodic meetings between the ministry and the various sports federations. On our part, the ministry is fully committed to ensuring that these meetings take place on a periodic basis because we have a shared responsibility with the sports federations.”
The minister alluded to funding as a major setback facing sports in the country in the past decades, assuring that the challenge would be resolved.
He also stated that his engagement with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the issue of adequate sports funding strengthened his resolve to solve the problem.
The minister commended the Ministerial Podium Performance Advisory Team led by Ken Anugweje, a professor, and the various sports federations’ presidents for their work.
In his remarks, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Ismaila Abubakar, said that the meeting was convened by the minister to enable the various stakeholders to brainstorm and develop strategies for the nation to achieve success at the African, Olympic/Paralympic Games and other sports competitions in 2024 and beyond.