The Ministry of Sports has stated that it will address the issues that affected the performance of Nigerian representatives in the just concluded Olympics in Paris, News About Nigeria reports.
The Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, stated this while speaking during a live broadcast on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Thursday.
He said that the Ministry will thoroughly investigate the cause of Nigeria’s performance at the recent Paris Olympics.
Expressing his disappointment in the fact that Team Nigeria returned from the Olympics without securing a medal, Enoh attributed the loss to a lack of motivation, despite that all Nigerian athletes participating in the games were well compensated.
He disclosed that over N8 billion was spent on the competition, with some athletes receiving their payments in advance.
The sports minister further explained that the federations selected athletes they deemed suitable for the competitions but often resisted external input.
He called for the reform of the sporting federations to enable the Nigerian team to do better subsequently.
“The Ministry of Sports Development, under my leadership, will thoroughly investigate every issue that contributed to our performance. We will not ignore it; we will address it directly.
“The federations are very protective of their decisions, and any attempt by a minister to intervene is often viewed as interference.
“My responsibility is to oversee our performance in international competitions. Under my leadership, I have sought to avoid many of the issues that have plagued our sporting engagements internationally over the past several years,” he stated.
