By Joel Ajayi

Before the commencement of this Present administration, about 126 sports facilities cut across the country was nothing but an eye sores and nothing to write home about them.

But Appointment of the current sports Minister Mr. Sunday Dare by President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2019 to oversee the Sports Ministry apparently took cognizance of a Game-changer who had excelled as a Journalist, Academic, Political Strategist and Communications Technocrat.

Indeed, Dare changed the game. Although he combines overseeing the sports ministry with youth development, his ability to turn around the sports section has sold him across the world as one Nigerian administrator to look out for in the no-distant future.

One of the areas where he excelled was turnaround of many Moribund sporting facilities across the country which are now in good shape courtesy of ministry of youth and sports development under the leadership of hardworking young and Vibrant Sports Minister who has been in touch with the cooperate bodies, individual well-meaning Nigerians and other bodies to ensure private funding and commercialization of sports to make some of our sporting facilities working again.

This particular act is unprecedented in the history of sports in Nigeria, leading many to rest assured of more wholesome packages to come as soon as the sports policy is reinvigorated according to his plans. 

The Sports Ministry under the leadership of  Dare developed and implemented a Private Public Partnership model for sports, under the ‘Adopt an Athlete’ initiative about 20 athletes were adopted with some getting $10,000 and others $20,000.

Also, under this administration that the National stadium Abuja and Lagos, Ibadan, Kaduna, Obafemi Awolowo stadium, Daura Township stadiums that were left moribund for years, came back to life. Dare got the private sector to begin work and as at last week, the Moshood Abiola stadium in Abuja back to life and 12 years of Abandonment.

Under the leadership of Sports Minister many of the stadium abandoned for over 18 years or more they are back, they might not be 100% but this is a points that, minister thrive where others failed.

Speaking, Minister expressed: “We raise almost over 550 dollars for our athletes, we raised over 2.5million dollars to fix our facilities from the private sector of course government brought in counterpart funding.

“We just believed it’s important for us to lay that foundation, we also get 2 year maintained for the stadium.”

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