Sports
Experience, Commitment and Consistency: Unveiling the Strides of John Enoh, Nigeria’s 36th Sports Minister
Senator John Owan Enoh is a Nigerian politician, teacher, farmer and philanthropist. He was born on the 4th of June, 1966, at Agbokim Waterfalls, Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State. He graduated from the University of Calabar in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology (2nd Class Upper Division), and as best graduating student of his set.
He not only returned to the same department between 1991-1997 as a lecturer, but he also went ahead to bag an M.Sc (Demography), a PGDM, and an MBA degree.
Senator John Owan Enoh started his political career in 1997 with his initial election into the Cross River State House of Assembly in the botched Abacha transition. He got re-elected to the same House in 1999 and led the All Peoples’ Party (APP) as Minority Leader; leading 12 of his colleagues against 13 Members of the PDP.
In 2003, he got elected to the House of Representatives on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), where he served in the 5th, 6th and 7th Houses. During his first term, he served as Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Culture & Tourism (2003-2005) and Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation (2005-2007). In his second term, he was Chairman, House Committee on Finance (2007-2011). He Chaired the Committee on Appropriation in his third term (2011-2015).
He got elected to represent Cross River Central Senatorial District and served in the 8th Senate (2015-2019) as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance. In 2017, he defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the floor of the Nigerian Senate and was the party’s Governorship candidate for Cross River State in 2019.
He has attended several courses both at home and abroad on capacity building, earning a certificate in Public Financial Management, from the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University (Executive Education) and a certificate on ‘Influence and Negotiation’ at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, amongst others.
Sen. Enoh is a fellow, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, (CEPACS), University of Ibadan. He was also listed as one of Nigeria’s 50 most Outstanding Legislative Icons (1999 – 2010), in a definitive book published by Parlia Consult, a Consortium of Legislative Historians.
Senator Enoh is a voice that speaks for the voiceless, the weak, and the disabled and stands tall as a beacon of hope for his people.
He is happily married to Rachel and together, they are blessed with 3 children – Rachel, John Jr. and Victor. He is a football and lawn tennis enthusiast, and enjoys keeping tabs on a varying number of other sports.
Sports
Plateau Vipers, Benue Queens Crowned Champions at HFN North Central Division One Tourney
Joel Ajayi
The President of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Jibril Seidu, has said the federation will continue to intensify its grassroots talent development drive through zonal competitions across the country.
Seidu stated this on Saturday in Abuja at the finals of the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship, where Plateau Vipers defeated Suleja Shooters 29-24 to emerge champions in the men’s category.
In the women’s final, Benue Queens of Makurdi defeated City Queens of Suleja to claim the title.
The eight-day tournament featured teams from across the North Central Zone, with Plateau Vipers of Jos, Confluence Stars of Lokoja, Unity Boys of Abuja, Suleja Shooters and Nasarawa Ambassadors of Lafia competing in the men’s category.
In the women’s category, Nuela Handball Academy of Ilorin, Inikpi Babes of Idah, Benue Queens of Makurdi and City Queens of Suleja competed for honours.
At the end of the competition, four teams — two male and two female — emerged as the North Central Zone’s representatives for the national Division One league.
According to Seidu, the tournament was organised as part of the federation’s deliberate strategy to take handball development back to the regions and discover talents that might otherwise remain unnoticed.
He said the HFN board, inaugurated on October 25, 2025, resolved that grassroots development was essential to creating a sustainable pipeline of players for national and international competitions.
“All the teams you have seen here are from the North Central Zone of the country, and every state is represented with an academy or state team,” he said.
Seidu explained that the new approach marked a departure from the previous system, where talent identification was largely centred on the federation’s major league competitions.
He said taking competitions to the regions would provide young players with greater opportunities to showcase their abilities while strengthening the foundation of handball across the country.
The HFN president also linked the grassroots initiative to Nigeria’s recent achievements in international handball, stressing the need to develop younger players who can eventually replace members of the current national teams.
He noted that Nigeria had qualified for the 2027 Men’s Junior Handball World Championship in North Macedonia, describing the achievement as evidence of the potential within the country’s handball system.
“How do we replace these players with upcoming players? This is the avenue for us to get players,” he said.
Seidu added that the federation was determined to make handball more visible and accessible, describing it as one of Nigeria’s major sporting disciplines with significant potential for growth.
The North Central tournament is part of a wider zonal programme designed to decentralise handball development across Nigeria.
According to the federation, similar competitions are being organised across other zones, including the South East, North East, North West and South South, with qualifiers from each zone expected to converge at a designated venue for the next stage of the competition.
The federation also appealed for greater support from sponsors, stakeholders and state associations to sustain its grassroots development programme.
It expressed appreciation to the participating states, academies, team sponsors and other stakeholders for their support and commitment to the growth of handball in Nigeria.
The federation said the initiative would provide a platform for discovering the next generation of Nigerian handball stars while expanding the sport’s reach beyond its traditional centres.
While Speaking the elated coach of Benue Queen Godwin Tondo has promised a stronger and more tactical performance after guiding the team to victory at the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship in Abuja.
He attributed the success to the team’s long-term youth development programme, noting that the squad was built through a deliberate process of identifying and nurturing young talents.
According to him, the programme began with the selection of 92 girls from secondary schools, who were subsequently trained and developed over a four-year period.
He said the team’s success was a product of sustained hard work and commitment despite the challenges encountered during preparations for the tournament.
“I feel very pleased being a champion today. The road to this stage was very, very hard, but I am very happy that we have got the result from all the toughness of the game,” he said.
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