Featured

Minister Tips Wrestling For Olympic Glory in Tokyo

Published

6 years ago

September 23, 2020

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development Mr. Sunday Dare while hosting the Bayelsa state Commissioner for Youth and Sports Dr. Daniel Igali on Tuesday assured Nigerians of Olympic medal haul in Wrestling.

According to the Minister “If we’re sure 0f a Sport that would fetch us medals at the Olympics it is wrestling, considering the fact that the federation had done so well.

“The Wrestling Federation under the leadership of Dr. Daniel Igali Vision, dream, and focus are in line with our plans and we are sure that the likes of Blessing Oborodudu and Odunayo Adekuroye would win medals at the Olympics.

“It gladdened our heart when you were appointed Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development because we believe that once we have seasoned athletes like you in this position, we are sure that you will get on the same page with the policy of the Federal Government on youth and sports Development.

“For us, that is a plus and we believe that in the next four years as Commissioner, you will work closely with the Ministry of Youth and Sports in line with our Vision of grassroots Development, Partnership with the private sector and state governments. I also want to thank you for speaking to the Adopt Initiative. We were already on an accelerated pace to get as many athletes as possible adopted before COVID-19 slowed us down.

“ Some of those that promised to adopt was also affected because their company was shut down and there was a general downturn. We have picked up again and I recall clearly that you are also a product of adopting initiative in Canada where you actually hit the peak of your performance. We hope that this adopt initiative is something that has a sustainable model to support our athletes other than the Olympics”.

“We celebrate you as an Olympian, we salute your effort to ensure that you share that podium with other Nigeria wrestlers which are why one of our greatest hope of medals at the Olympics is Wrestling among the eleven sports that we have chosen. We can almost take it to the bank that we would get a medal from Wrestling due to your leadership, discipline, and professionalism. We hope we can sustain the tempo till next year so that our Athletes will have podium performance.

“Let me also say that we have 32 sporting Federations supervised by the Ministry. Without mincing words, I think the Wrestling Federation remains one of our best federations. I can see the connection between having a leadership that is purposeful, that is collegial, democratic, and not unilateral, respect the code of governance and the constitution set by the board. You can see the connection with what happens with the quality of the athletes and I hold the Wrestling federation as one that we want to have a constructive relationship with the Ministry. We also want federations where the leadership pays attention to the welfare and the development of its members particularly the Athletes.

The Minister congratulated Igali on his appointment as Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development in Bayelsa State.

In his own remark, Igali thanked the Minister for his giant strides in the last one year since assuming Office

Igali solicited the Minister’s support to vie into the office of the World wrestling body, partnership with the Bayelsa State Government and plans to organize the maiden edition of the Bayelsa State Sports Festival.

Share on Facebook

Featured

Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold

Published

2 days ago

October 28, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.

The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.

Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.

According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.

“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.

“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”

The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.

Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.

“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.

Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.

Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.

He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.

Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.

He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.

To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.

In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization

Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.

Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.

“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.

In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee

is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.

The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Share on Facebook