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Tag: Ndanusa

  • Ndanusa, Akande, Ohuabunwa, others join Pearl Awards Board

    Pearl Awards Nigeria has announced the appointment of some notable Nigerians to its Board of Governors from corporate Nigeria.

    Among the people appointed are Dr. Suleyman Ndanusa, OON; Chief (Mrs) Nike Akande, CON; Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, OFR; Mr. Olufemi Awoyemi, FCA;  Mrs Toyin Sanni and Prince Abimbola Olashore.

    According to a release signed by Olalekan Adekoya, Secretary, Board of Governors, the board was reconstituted as part of efforts to strengthen its governance and enhance the performance of the Awards Project towards the realization of its objectives and to further contribute meaningfully to the growth of the capital market and by extension, the nation’s economy.

    The new board members are top-flight and respected professionals whose wealth of experience spanned the capital market and the financial sector of our economy.

    Dr Suleyman Ndanusa was Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and served as Chairman of Board of SEC between 2013 and 2015.   He is currently the Group Managing Director/CEO, Global Mandate Consulting Limited.

    Chief (Mrs) Nike Akande was the immediate past President, Lagos Chamber of  Commerce and Industry (LCCI). She is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and the International Institute for Management Development.

    Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa was the Chairman /Managing Director of Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc. He was also past President, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA).

    Mr. Olufemi Awoyemi is the Founder/CEO, Proshare Nigeria Limited and WEB TV. Prior to this, he served as MD/CEO, P2P Media Partners Limited. He had earlier worked as Head, Treasury and Management Account, British American Tobacco.

    Mrs Toyin Sanni, a lawyer, chartered secretary and stockbroker was until recently the Group CEO at United Capital Plc.

    Prince Abimbola Olashore is a seasoned investment banker with vast experience and knowledge in the capital market and in financial

    advisory services in the public and private sectors. He was Managing Director / CEO, Lead Bank Ltd.

    The PEARL Awards Nigeria instituted in 1995 is a private sector, not-for-profit, non-partisan and Non-Governmental Organization initiative to reward companies quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange for Operational and Stock Performance based on objective and globally accepted parameters, thereby enhancing vibrancy, growth and development of the market.

  • Niger PDP: Ndanusa, two others for deputy governor

    Niger PDP: Ndanusa, two others for deputy governor

    Former Minister of Sports  Sani Ndanusa is among the contenders for the runnning mate to the Niger State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Umar Nasko.

    Other contenders are the Secretary to the Government (SSG), Hon. Idris Ndako Kpaki, and the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development, Alhaji Isah Kantigi.

    The contenders were selected, following consultations and a shadow poll by State Executive Council members, local government chairmen and party leaders.

    Sources said that the search for the running mate was based on an agreement that the party should carry stakeholders on the choice of the running mate.

    The deputy governorship candidate was to have been named last week. But, there was a stiff opposition by some stakeholders, who kicked against one of the contenders perceived as Governor Babangida Aliyu’s annointed candidate.

    Also, a source said that the flag bearer’s family is not favourably disposed to the aspirant.

    Following the objection by stakeholders,  the governor directed that the names of the three contenders should be forwarded to the standard bearer to decide.

    He added:“The governor was in a fix. He had given his word to one of the contenders, but the new turn of events seem not to favour his preferred candidate. So, he has directed that Nasko be given opportunity to pick his deputy.

    “He claimed he was not given a similar opportunity when he came into power in 2007, but would want his successor to start with a deputy of his choice.”

    Efforts to get Nasko to comment on the issue proved abortive. But, a member of his campaign team, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “Our principal is being guided by the party on the choice of his deputy. We are going to weigh all the options and come up with the best for the party and the state.”

  • 1 year as NSC’s DG Ndanusa, Maigari hail Elegbeleye on sports development

    1 year as NSC’s DG Ndanusa, Maigari hail Elegbeleye on sports development

    Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) President Engineer Sani Ndanusa and Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari has showered encomiums on the Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye for excellent performance so far as he clocked a year in office on Wednesday.

    President Goodluck Jonathan had on Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 at the Federal Executive Council meeting announced the appointment of Honourable Gbenga Elegbeleye as the new Director General of the NSC with immediate effect after the retirement of former Director General of the Commission, Dr Patrick Ekeji.

    According to Ndanusa, a former Sports Minister when Elegbeleye was a Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Sports, the DG of the NSC has made a remarkable achievement since he took over from Ekeji.

    “The DG since he came has been working very hard to stabilise, sanitise and also reposition sports in Nigeria. He came with some wealth of experience being a legislator he knows how to follow through lobbying as well as discuss with people to get things done.

    “One of his good qualities as a leader is that he appreciates people’s views. He appreciates your views and talents. He never leaves any idea out but of course he sheaves and takes the best. He is a listener and in some areas he will say look I am learning this one, let me know how it is.

    “One thing I know he detests is to say that we are not following the international best practices. He is not limiting sports growth to Nigeria. He sees sports to grow beyond Nigeria and so long as we key in into the world that is when we will do it right. He wants to connect Nigerian sports to the continental and international best practices. So long as we key in that is how we can measure our performance in world sports. He came in at the beginning as a round peg in a round hole because of his experience while in the National Assembly.

    “I was a serving Minister when he was in the House of Rep as the Deputy Chairman of House Committee on Sports. In fact, I must give him one sports credit for being part of the team that created the Community Sports Centers to be built all over the country because of his passionate thinking about the grassroots. He believes that sports can only develop through grass-roots programmes. What he preaches is mass participation in sports and you cannot do this without mass infrastructures.

    “Generally it has not been easy when it comes to the issue of funding (at the National Sports Commission) with the bottleneck but I think with the experience and networking that I know him to do very well he has used that to bring some improvement even into financing and relationship with the federations. Federations are mainly the foot soldiers of sports development. Hon Elegbeleye has been able to come to terms with them and working amicably with them the same with the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC).

    “He is a close friend of the NOC and he understands it has an international body which has to follow best practice. So we have been working very closely together and I can say the relationship and the synergy between the NOC and the National Sports Commission now is quite firm and very cordial.

    “He has also taking a serious look at the issue of the Military Games because it is in the Military and Para-military we have been getting medals no matter the colour. We can easily remember the likes of Chioma Ajunwa, late Sunday Bada and Gazama that have won laurels for this country. So with his leadership we at the Committee have already done a road map that would help us achieve success from military sports,” Ndanusa explained.

    The NFF President, Aminu Maigari confessed that the DG helped to bring peace back to football family in Nigeria.

    “Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye, a former law maker and a passionate football lover, has brought stability and peace to sports generally since he assumed duty a year ago. He brought peace to the football family and made the system very peaceful.

    “He is somebody that has passion for sports generally and football in particular. He is somebody a lot of people and especially my humble self is so proud of. This is not the beginning point for him because he has been promoting and developing sports since he was in the House of Representatives then as Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Sports.

    “As far as I am concerned he has done well so far handling the affairs of sports as the Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC). He has done so well so far particularly in the area of football and you can see what we have achieved since he was appointed.

    “He has supported the Nigeria Football Federation in all our programmes which led to our winning the U- 17 World Cup for a record fourth time in October 2013 after the last one we won in 2007. The Super Eagles also qualified for the 2014 World Cup and the Eagles also won bronze in Nigeria’s maiden participation in this year’s Africa Nations Championship held in South Africa while the female junior national teams also qualified for the World Cup. But the most important thing is that he brought peace and unity to the football house that enabled us to achieve all that I have mentioned. So his achievement in this past one year has been fantastic,” Maigari disclosed.

  • Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis: NTF, LOC to camp local players

    Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis: NTF, LOC to camp local players

    No fewer than 10 top Nigerian players will be given two weeks close camping ahead of the this year’s Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship which serves off October 13 in Lagos.

    Former Minister of Sports and President of Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) Sani Ndanusa who made this known, said the project which is being handled in conjunction with Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the $80,000 (about N12.6m) prize money championship is aimed at improving the chances of the local players who have practically been at the receiving end.

    “The camping is one of our contributions to prepare our players psychologically and technically for this year’s Governor’s Cup. The plan is to select 10 players and prepare them with the help of two coaches for two weeks in Lagos before the competition.

    “We have the support of the LOC on this camping and it is our expectation that the players will put up a good performance this year,” he enthused.

    The NOC president and former Niger State Commissioner for Transport and Infrastructural Development praised the media for supporting the championship now in its 13th edition, noting that partnership of that nature remains the best approach to taking sports in the country to the zenith.

    Tournament Director of the Governor’s Cup, Prince Wale Oladunjoye said the LOC is expecting the local players to give the foreign players a good fight this year, even as he revealed that more emphasis will be laid on the nutrition of the players during the camping.

    “During the camping, the players will be properly fed to correct their nutrition and there will be full training to prepare them for the challenges ahead. We are expecting that they will have two or three days break before the commencement of the Governor’s Cup. This is a programme of the NTF, but the LOC is supporting so that at the end of the day there will be good results from our players this year,” he said.

    Strong indications abound that the camping may begin at the end of this month to allow the players complete a full circle ending October 10th, three days before the action begins at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan.

  • Ndanusa rates Abdullahi’s performance excellent

    Ndanusa rates Abdullahi’s performance excellent

    •Minister to inspect Commonwealth Games facilities in Glasgow June 17

    FORMER Sports Minister and Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) Sani Ndanusa has lauded the Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi for his inspirational leadership which has helped in improving sports since taking over.

    Ndanusa in a chat with Sportinglife yesterday while appraising the Minister’s performance, reeled out some of Abdullahi’s qualities which he said has impacted on grassroots development..

    “To me the Honourable Minister of Sports has done well and I would say so far so good for sports under his tenure. He has looked at key areas that have been really hard to crack. He has been able to sanitise the football section of sports in Nigeria a key area that has always been problematic to many Sports Ministers. “With the performance we are getting in football now I think we can give him (Sports Minister) kudos for that. You know that certainly when football is doing well it is assumed that all other sports are doing very well. He has been able to ensure and maintain peace in all sports federations most especially football which has always been bedeviled with so many litigation.

    “Also for the grassroots sports, he also operated from the sporting zones that we have in the country. He is strengthening the administration of the zones so that these zones will get some technical direction and ensure that sports development starts from the grassroots that is from the local government to states and from states to zones and then from zones to national. So I can assure you that with what the Minister is putting on ground, we will surely start getting positive results and fast development of sports in the country.

    “The Minister is also investing on capacity building too. I want to say yes he is been doing quite well in that area also. For instance the relationship between the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has been very cordial too.

    “Also he is working with the federations involved in earnest preparations for the Commonwealth Games holding in Glasgow, Scotland next year. He is leading the team to inspect the facilities at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games next week. After the inspection we will come up with the best way to approach the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. “Of course I see it as a platform to correct our bad outing during the London 2012 Olympic Games. A good result in next year’s Commonwealth games will surely make sports-loving Nigerians happy and it will encourage a good showing in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. This project is also close to the Honourable Minister.

    “The Minister like I said already has a plan to inspect the Commonwealth Games facilities in Glasgow which includes accommodation, logistics and all other necessary things for Nigerian athletes to excel at the Games when he leads the inspection team to Glasgow. The visit to Glasgow on June 17 and 18th June, 2013 will afford the National Sports Commission the opportunity to plan adequately for the Commonwealth Games. We will come out with a road map on this competition.

    “Another good plan that the Minister has put in place for us to win medals in international competitions beginning with the Commonwealth Games Insa Allah (By God’s grace now that we have resolved to use the military and paramilitary sports. I have personally met with all the service chiefs so that we can come out with a road map using the armed forces. You know that to get a world beater or Commonwealth beater, you must train constantly and you know that sports in the military is regimented and it’s a tradition.

    So the Honourable Minister has concluded plans as regards the participation of the military (armed forces) in sports.

    “I can also disclose to you that the reason why there was an increased connection and collaboration between the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Sports Commission (NSC) is because the Minister always allows international best practice to prevail”, the NOC President revealed.