Sports Minister reiterates commitment to revitalisation of zonal offices

•receives state directors of sports

Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh has reiterated his commitment to the revitalisation of sports zonal offices.

The Minister stated this when the leadership of the Forum of Directors of Sports of the 36 States of the federation, and that of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Wednesday, paid a familiarisation visit to him, ahead of the 7th edition of the National Youth Games (NYG) in Asaba, Delta State.

“I will like to assure the forum that we will prioritise the revitalisation of the eight sports zonal offices by bringing them back to life without further delay to anchor our programmes and serve as our liaison with the states under their watch,” Enoh said.

The forum were led on by its Chairman and Director of Sports Ebonyi State, Mr Utobo Emmanuel.

Emmanuel said the essence of the visit was to officially felicitate Enoh on his appointment as the Minister of Sports as well as to intimate him on the activities of the forum, whose members form the bulk of constituents that make up the National Council on Sports in Nigeria.

“The forum of Directors of Sports plays a pivotal role in the development of sports in Nigeria through grassroots sports because all the athletes are nurtured from the state, before being turned over to the federations and national teams as elite competitors.”

He reiterated that sports are incomplete without collective planning and participation in the forum; hence their utmost desire is to work in tandem with the ministry, under the watch of Senator Enoh, by partnering with him and complementing his vision and goals for the nation’s sports sector, at the states and zonal levels.

“While appreciating you (the minister) for granting us audience as leaders of the forum and Directors of Sports of our respective states, we appeal to you to see and accord our forum its rightful place, as a serious component for core decision-making, and policy think-tank that would help in repositioning sports development and policies, in the country,” Emmanuel said.

The minister, in his remarks, promised to grant all sports the attention they deserve, without bias and intends to converge all stakeholders to a meeting of the Council of Sports in due course, to help in modifying and solidifying the nation’s sports policy to be at par with the world’s best standards.

Enoh said he would meet with the Governor’s Forum to solicit their support for sports development and funding.

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