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Sports Minister Gives Account of Stewardship in Six Months

Published

5 years ago

April 3, 2020

…Says You Can’t Score Yourself in an Examination

Joel Ajayi

Minister of Youth and Sports Development Mr Sunday Dare, has said he remains focused on his vision for the Ministry in spite of the challenges facing the Youth and Sports sector and the country at large.

He said while giving account of his stewardship in the last six months in an interview in Abuja.
“It would be totally wrong to score myself. You can’t score yourself in an examination. The score card should be done by relevant stakeholders who have been monitoring what we have done since assuming office.

“But by and large, we have tried to re invent the wheel of Youth and Sports Development, restore confidence in the sector. We have changed the wrong perception about the Youth and Sports Development Ministry,engage with critical stakeholders, the athletes and those that are genuinely interested in supporting us to actualize our vision. We have succeeded in convincing the athletes who are at the core of winning honour that we mean well and their welfare remains our central focus.We have re focused sports development by dwelling on the core issues that matter.”

The Minister while maintaining that athletes remain top priority added, “Without the athletes winning laurels, sports wil be meaningless. So we have focused on infrastructural development, the development and discovery of athletes and taking care of their welfare.We have also insisted on doing things right to change the echo system in Youth and Sports and most negative perception that we inherited has changed. We met alot of challenges but when look back in a year or two we believe alot would have changed for good.”

On the biggest challenges since assuming Office and he has been able to navigate around them, he said, “The Youth and Sports Development sector is not insulated from the challenges that characterise other Ministries and sectors of the society. We inherited alot of challenges like projects that were started and abandoned, those that were completely made to rot away, Youth unemployment and the sector that was completely neglected.
With all these problems, we had to devise strategic options of adressing the problems.

” We came up with the Adopt an Athlete Initiative and Adopt a Stadium. With this we have gone into partnership with committed individuals, Corporate bodies,State Governments, Government Agencies to support our athletes and address the infrastructural problems. These are problems that had always been and we had to take pro active steps to tackle them. This strategic move has achieved a lot with state governments like Edo, Delta, Anambra adopting athletes. Unlike in the past,money meant for athletes are paid directly into their account without anyone taking anything. This is to enable the athletes train well for the Olympics before it was cancelled Good enough, we ate constantly monitoring the athletes to know how they are faring.

“With the lockdown and postponement of all sporting event, we are keeping tabs on the athletes to ensure that they use the money well and also use private in door facilities to keep in shape.”

Speaking on infrastructure, the Minister said Stadiums like the MKO Abiola Stadium, National Stadiums in Lagos and Ibadan are being given a face lift by individuals, just as the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna has been given a new look courtesy of the Kaduna State Governor Malam Nasiru El Rufai.

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NSF: Oparaoji, Ekpeyong, Quadri Gear Up for Tough Quarterfinal Clashes in Abeokuta

Published

2 weeks ago

May 23, 2025

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The tennis courts at the ongoing National Sports Festival in Abeokuta are buzzing with intensity as the competition hits the quarterfinal stage in both the men’s and women’s singles events, following a gripping round of 16.

Men’s Singles Quarterfinals:

Abubakar Yusuf of FCT will square off against Rivers State’s Abua Canice. Yusuf booked his spot with a 4-0, 4-2 win over Ehigiamusoe Endurance of Edo, while Canice cruised past Azi David 4-1, 4-0.

Bayelsa’s Uche Oparaoji faces Adeleye Daniel of Ekiti in a clash of skill and strategy. Oparaoji outclassed Urenyang Nuhu of Taraba 4-1, 4-2, just as Adeleye powered past Kaduna’s Ibrahim Sulaiman with the same scoreline.

In one of the most anticipated ties, Danjuma Lucky (FCT) will lock horns with Bayelsa’s top seed David Ekpeyong. Danjuma came through a thrilling contest against Ekiti’s Abamu Matthew, rallying to win 1-4, 4-2, 10-5, while Ekpeyong dominated Taraba’s Rubi Toba 4-0, 4-2.

Home favourite Christopher Bulus of Ogun will battle Edo’s Michael Chima for a semifinal ticket. Bulus swept past Rivers’ Timibra Godsgift 4-1, 4-0, while Chima triumphed over Delta’s Iloputa Ikechukwu in a straight-set win.

Women’s Singles Quarterfinals:

Delta’s Barakat Quadri, fresh off a 4-1, 4-0 win over Rebecca Ekpeyong of Bayelsa, will face rising star Emmanuel Bright of the IJA (Invited Junior Athletes), who overcame Rivers’ Maxwell Timipre 4-2, 5-3.

Edo’s Omotayo Blessing will battle Akwa Ibom’s Udoffa Mary in what promises to be a fiery encounter. Omotayo brushed aside Ekiti’s Adeusi Jesutoyosi 4-0, 4-1, while Udoffa outplayed Moses Favour of Kaduna 5-3, 4-0.

Elsewhere, Ogunjobi Success of Ekiti will test her mettle against Aina Goodnews of IJA, and Akwa Ibom’s Etoro Bassey faces Ogun’s Yakubu Ohunene in a South-South vs South-West showdown.

With the quarterfinals locked in, tennis fans are in for a thrilling ride as the battle for medals intensifies under the Abeokuta sun.

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