Sports

Sports Minister, Chief Dare Adopts Enoch Adegoke

Published

4 years ago

May 3, 2021

…It will help me to work hard, Enoch thanks minister

Joel Ajayi

As part of unrelenting effort to ensure Nigeria win more medals at the forthcoming Olympic, the Minister Of Youth And Sports Development, Chief Sunday Dare, in his own capacity has adopted Enoch Adegoke, thereby making adoption to be 16 so far.

Enoch Adegoke, who recently set world-leading time at the Athletics Federation of Nigeria All Comers meet, ran 10.16 seconds in the men’s 100m.

The Gleamer News scooped that Adegoke’s aim of winning a medal at the Olympics was boosted by N4.6million, courtesy of benevolent and kind-hearted Minister of Sport himself, Chief Sunday Dare.

Adegoke competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in both the 100 metres and the 4×100 metres relay, and the just-concluded National Youth Games in Edo state.

Speaking on Monday when he visited athletes in camp, Minister Chief Dare expressed that the quest to ameliorate athletes suffering prompted him to adopt athlete Enoch Adegoke.

He said: “When we came on board, we found out that most of our athletes are often in dire need of support and they just manage to pay their way, their coaches, pay for their training facilities, we just saw it was a struggle, that is why we come up with an initiative by reaching out to private sectors and today, it is working for us.

“As we speak, we have about 16 athletes adopted and we are happy about that. We don’t pay into proxy account; the money would be paid directly into the athlete’s account to fund his/her preparations for the Olympics.”

While speaking, the delighted Enoch thanked the Minister for his kind gesture saying: It’s very timely, it will spur me to strive more, and it’s very good news for me, I am really happy that the Minister did this and I can’t thank him enough.

“The purpose of adoption of Athletes initiative is to assist athletes, and with this good news, I am being encouraged, and I will try my best to secure qualification.”

When asked if he is getting ready for the Olympic, Adegoke replied: “Of course I am getting ready, I am trusting God for the strength to qualify very soon and meet up with every standard.”

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Sports

NLO’s Shola Ogunowo Earns Praise for Driving Grassroots Football and Exemplifying Integrity

Published

1 hour ago

June 7, 2025

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Nigerian football community has lauded Mr. Shola Ogunowo, Chief Operating Officer of the Nationwide League One (NLO), for his unwavering commitment to integrity and the development of grassroots football, earning him widespread respect and admiration across the sporting landscape.

In a statement released in Abuja and signed by Okechukwu Okebugwu, Mr. Ogunowo was praised as a transformative leader who has redefined the ethics and standards of football administration at the grassroots level. According to the release, Ogunowo has emerged as a “leading figure in the fight against match-fixing, bribery, and all forms of corruption” that have plagued the lower tiers of Nigerian football for decades.

Through consistent enforcement of transparency, fairness, and accountability, Mr. Ogunowo is steering the NLO toward becoming a credible platform where talent can be discovered and nurtured based on merit, rather than manipulation or favoritism.

“In an environment where shortcuts and compromises are all too common, Shola Ogunowo has remained a pillar of integrity,” Okebugwu stated. “He is restoring credibility to grassroots football by ensuring that fair play, discipline, and professionalism are non-negotiable.”

Since taking over as COO, Ogunowo has spearheaded a number of structural reforms aimed at instilling discipline and operational excellence among participating clubs. These include stricter licensing requirements, performance audits, and compliance monitoring to ensure clubs uphold the league’s code of conduct. His administration has also emphasized youth development, with a renewed focus on coaching education and player welfare.

The result is a reinvigorated Nationwide League One that is beginning to attract renewed attention from fans, corporate sponsors, and local communities. Observers say Ogunowo’s leadership is helping reshape perceptions of grassroots football—not just as a stepping stone to the elite leagues, but as a vital foundation for the future of Nigerian football.

“His leadership is not only impacting the pitch—it’s rebuilding trust, creating real value, and setting a good standard for sports administration in Nigeria,” Okebugwu concluded.

As the NLO season progresses, many stakeholders believe that with figures like Shola Ogunowo at the helm, the future of grassroots football in Nigeria is not only secure, but promising.

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