Sports
Paris 2024: Sports Minister Steps up Olympic Games Preparations with Inauguration of Ministerial Strategic Committee
Joel Ajayi
As Team Nigeria gears up towards the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, the Honorable Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, on Wednesday, took a significant step towards ensuring the country’s exceptional outing on the global stage, as he inaugurated the Ministerial Strategic Committee at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
In an assertive move towards meticulous planning and strategic execution, the Committee will spearhead Nigeria’s preparations for the upcoming Games.
The inauguration of this Committee underscores the Minister’s unwavering commitment to fostering excellence in sports and providing the necessary support to Nigeria’s athletes.
Led by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Alhaji Ismaila Abubakar, the Committee comprises distinguished members renowned for their expertise and passion for sports development.
The Minister stated that the strategic committee is entrusted with the crucial task of orchestrating crucial plans towards a successful Olympic Games appearance.
“In order to ensure adequate preparations and effective participation of Team Nigeria at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, The Federal Ministry of Sports Development has therefore constituted the Ministerial Strategic Committee to recommend strategies and modalities towards a successful outing of Nigeria at both Games, the Minister stated.
“This Committee is made up of eminently qualified Nigerians who have served this country in various capacities. They were carefully selected based on their track record and relevant experiences.
The Minister reeled out the terms of reference of the committee charging them to discharge their responsibility for the collective good of the country, including determining shared objectives/targets and reviewing performances of National Sports Federations vis-a-viz the medals projections for each sport.
With Nigeria’s best olympic appearance dating back to the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, the Minister charged the Committee to surpass Team Nigeria’s medal haul of 1996, where Nigeria won gold medals in football and long jump, amongst other medals.
“As you go on to perform this critical national assignment, I want to urge the members of the committee to exert positive energy, intellect and experience to ensure that Nigeria surpasses its previous performance at the Games,” Senator Enoh said.
The committee comprises: Alh. Ismaila Abubakar as chairman, and Amaka Ashiofu as Member/Secretary.
Other members include: Dr. Paul Onyeudo, Mr. Patrick Okeke, Mrs. Thecia Opara, Engr. Abolore Alanamu, Mr. Olufehinti Olusegun, Mr. Tunde Popoola, Mr. Suleiman Issa, Mr. Olumide bamiduro, Mr. Brendan Ndifon, Prince Ebuta Ayuk, Barr. Danladi Ibrahim, and Mr. Abubakaar Waziri.
Speaking after the Committee’s inauguration, chairman, Alh. Abubakar stated that the team will do its best to make Nigeria proud, as it will work meticulously to ensure smooth preparations and execution of all plans. He said they will leave no stone unturned to deliver on all terms of reference assigned to them.
With qualifying series for Paris 2024 still on across various sports, eight Nigerian athletes have already qualified for the Games thus far – 3 track and field athletes, 3 boxers, one wrestler, and one cyclist. In the coming weeks, this number will increase significantly, as more qualifying tournaments are concluded.
For the Paralympic Games, the country has picked two tickets in para-athletics, 9 in para-table tennis, while 8 athletes are currently on the pathway to qualification in para-powerlifting.
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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