The National Institute for Sports (NIS) and EFFA Management Limited have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to revitalise the country’s sports sector with a view to building world-class facilities that will aid and assist Nigerian athletes in competing favourably with their counterparts globally.
Speaking at the event, which was held on Monday in Abuja, the Site General of the NIS, Comrade Philip Shaibu, restated the Institute’s mandate to align with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to diversify the country’s sports economy.
He added that the diversification of the sports economy will not be achieved if the NIS relies solely on the government for funding.
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The DG said, “In line with the mandate given to us by the president that we should go to NIS and breathe in the Renewed Hope Agenda and make sure it wakes up NIS to its core mandate, we decided that we should also bring in the private sector because government funding, as far as NIS is concerned, is at the lowest point. We have to bring the private sector in to help us actualise this mandate. And the only way it can be actualised is for us to show what government’s role is as far as our mandates of bringing Renewed Hope in the NIS.
And we’ve been having conversations with other agencies and other private partners in different fields. Some in terms of facility upgrades, some in terms of maintenance, some in terms of curriculum, to be able to have that partnership that works, that will not only bring Renew Hope into our sport ecosystem, but sustain it, because sustainability is the issue.”
Director, EFFA Management Limited, Olumide Fakeye, who commended President Tinubu for the attention given to the sports industry, said Nigerians possess the quality to make the country proud in sporting competitions.
”If you look around Nigeria, you can tell talent is not our issue. If you see Nigerians born abroad representing other nations, you will see how strong they are. It’s from the foundation here.
But the only thing that’s missing is having enough environments for these talented athletes to develop themselves, to have the right mindset, and to be surrounded by winners as well.
“When it comes to sports, we’re actually a superpower, and we just don’t know it yet. Because there’s nothing that they can’t do abroad that we can’t do here. I’m excited about this partnership, and I believe it’s going to produce greatness for many years onwards,” he said.
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