The country's sporting federations require extensive reforms for effective sports development, according to Minister of Sports Development John Enoh, who also expressed regret to Nigerians for the dismal performance at the Olympics in Paris. He continued by saying that in order to achieve the intended outcomes in the future, the various federations needed to have mechanisms and institutions in place to select the greatest athletes to represent the nation.
The Minister, who appeared as a guest during a live broadcast on Channels TV’s Politics Today attributed the loss to a lack of motivation, despite the fact that all Nigerian athletes participating in the games were well-compensated.
Noting that several of the federation presidents are in their third or fourth Olympics, he claimed that the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) was dead when he took office in August 2023 and that none of the athletic federations had well-equipped training centers.
Asked whether he has the powers to sack or discipline any erring heads of federations, he said, “I don’t have such powers.”
