Sports

Sports Minister, Chief Dare Adopts Enoch Adegoke

Published

5 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

Tinubu, Fashola, Governors, UNESCO, Sports Leaders to Headline National Grassroots Sports Summit

Published

18 hours ago

October 29, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The stage is being set for a landmark gathering at the Presidential Villa as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, and leading figures from government, sports administration and international development feature in the proposed opening-day programme of the National Grassroots Sports Development Summit 2026.

In a statement signed by Thursday by the Chairperson Media Sub-com National Grassroot Sports Summit Dr. (Mrs.) Kehinde Ajayi stated that, the two-day Summit, scheduled for November 18–19, 2026, at the Banquet Hall, State House, Presidential Villa, Abuja, is being organized by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, Hon. Adeyinka Anthony Adeboye.

With the theme “Creating a New Pathway for Sustainable Grassroots Sports Development,” the gathering seeks to produce practical solutions to Nigeria’s longstanding challenges in talent discovery, infrastructure, funding, coaching and athlete development.

The opening day, Wednesday, November 18, promises high-level engagement, with President Tinubu listed as Special Guest of Honour, while Fashola is scheduled to deliver a keynote address.

Also featuring in the Day One programme is Dr. Tayo Aduloju, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), whose organization has been engaged as technical partner to help translate discussions into a workable development roadmap.

Other personalities and institutions on the opening-day lineup include the Chairman and Director-General of the National Sports Commission, Mallam Shehu Dikko and Hon. Bukola Olopade; the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum; the President of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON); and the Head of Office and UNESCO Representative to Nigeria.

Also listed are Barrister Enitan Oshodi, President of the African Table Tennis Federation; the President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee; and Dr. Musa Nakorji of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Research Department.

The involvement of these personalities reflects the Summit’s emphasis on connecting sports development with economic planning, education, grassroots governance, international cooperation and private-sector investment.

Adeboye described the gathering as an opportunity to move Nigerian sports beyond isolated achievements towards a coordinated national development system.

“The real question is not whether Nigeria has sporting talent.
We know we have talent in abundance. The question is how we build a system that discovers, nurtures and supports that talent consistently, from our communities and schools to the international stage,” he said.

He stressed that the participation of state governments, local councils, development institutions and sports administrators would be critical to producing lasting outcomes.

The Summit will continue on Thursday, November 19, with further stakeholder engagements aimed at developing actionable recommendations for sustainable grassroots sports development with preparations intensifying, organizers are confident that the gathering will provide a defining platform for strengthening the foundation of Nigerian sports and expanding opportunities for young people nationwide.

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