The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NSF

  • NSF: Ogun Athletes protest over delayed allowances

    NSF: Ogun Athletes protest over delayed allowances

    Team Ogun athletes on Tuesday morning blocked the gate of Babcock University in Ilisan-Remo, where athletes at the ongoing 22nd National Sports Festival in Ogun are housed, to protest the delayed payment of their allowances.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the protest, which started in the early hours of Wednesday, prevented athletes from other states from going to compete in their various events scheduled to commence by 8am.

    The protest caused traffic gridlock in and around the university community as the protesters blocked the main gate of the university, a key venue for the festival.

    Some of the athletes who do not want their names mentioned told NAN that they will continue with the protest until they are paid their allowances.

    NAN reports that Gov. Dapo Abiodun of Ogun had promised to reward any athlete who won gold with ₦2.5m, ₦1.5m for silver, and ₦1m for bronze.

    NAN learnt that all participating athletes for the state would receive a sum of N50,000 for qualifying.

    NAN further reported that the athletes were demanding the immediate payment of their allowances, which, according to them, have been delayed by the state government.

    However, after much persuasion from government officials, the protesting athletes backed down on their demands at about 1pm and opened the gate to allow vehicles to convey athletes to competition venues.

    NAN reports that Team Ogun is third on the medal table with 53 gold, 44 silver and 52 bronze, totalling 149 medals.

    Meanwhile, the Ogun government has condemned the protest and reaffirmed its commitment to athletes’ welfare.

    The state government, in a statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Mr Kayode Akinmade, described the action of athletes as regrettable.

    He expressed the government’s disappointment, adding that the protest was inconsistent with the values and objectives the state upholds.

    Akinmade said that the athletes acted out of impatience, as all necessary arrangements had been concluded for the payment of their allowances on Thursday.

    “Abiodun remains deeply sensitive and committed to the welfare of all participants at the festival.

    Read Also: 2024 NSF: US-based  Bulus,  Delta’s Quadri clinch tennis’ singles

    “There is no circumstance under which he would allow Ogun athletes to suffer or be neglected.

    “The protest earlier today by a few athletes is not only unfortunate but also uncalled for.

    “It stands in stark contrast to the immense success the state has recorded in hosting the festival—from the grand opening ceremony to the impressive performance of Team Ogun,” he said.

    He added that payment of allowances had already commenced, with athletes receiving bank alerts as scheduled.

    “Those who protested did so in error. It was a clear case of impatience,” he said.

    (NAN)

  • NSF: Ogun approves N16.5m to 33 Sport Associations

    NSF: Ogun approves N16.5m to 33 Sport Associations

    Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has approved N16.5 million to 33 sport associations in the state to prepare for the 22nd National Sports Festival scheduled to hold between  May 16 and 30 in the state.

    The state athletes for the festival are also expected to commence closed-door camping with immediate effect.

    The Secretary to the Ogun State Government (SSG),  Tokunbo Talabi, stated yesterday  at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, during an engagement with athletes, coaches, chairmen of sport associations, and other stakeholders in the state.

    “I am delighted to announce that the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has graciously approved the payment of N500,000 as support to each of the 33 sport associations participating in the festival,” he said. “The Governor has sanctioned the implementation of a new structure and process to drive the development of sports.”

    The SSG noted that the subvention isn’t a largesse to be shared by anyone but an avenue to ensure the smooth preparation of the state athletes for the festival.

    He said that the state government would be setting up a mechanism to see and ascertain the level of impact of the subvention on the preparation of the state athletes.

    “It behoves you all to give an account of all these little gestures. I think it is going to be once or twice in the first instance, and then we will see the feedback; and if the feedback is good, it is not an opportunity for a largesse, and that is why the Governor is also putting the responsibility on the Commissioner for Sports Development.

    “The government, especially the office of the Secretary to the State Government and the office of the Governor, through the office of the Secretary to the Ogun State Government, is going to set up a mechanism to see the feedback that we are getting from all these gestures we are making so that we can fine-tune it and make sure that it is sustainable,” he added.

    Read Also: Ogun Police beef up security at Sagamu interchange

    He urged  the state athletes to come up with their own war songs before every competition, just like the way it is done by rugby teams.

    “When you see the rugby people; the Australians with their battle-ready songs, we will create our own, and it will be nice for some of our various teams to also have a small celebration mannerism within themselves so that you can create a lot of variety, and everybody will be looking up to it,” he said.

    He noted that the National Sports Festival has given Ogun a platform to set a good structure for sports development in the state, adding that the state, with its new sporting facilities, has taken its place of pride among the comity of states.

    The SSG also said that while constructive criticisms are welcomed, the state government frowns upon sensationalism from a section of the public that does not want development.

    He said: “Don’t be mischievous; you know sometimes, some people will just, for no reason, go on social media. It is not the way to get development; it is sensationalism. In the past, some of those people who have done that have confirmed that they wanted their social handles to get the needed traffic.

    “But, when you have constructive criticisms, we are ready and willing to take them.”

    Earlier in his remarks, the Commissioner for Sports Development, Hon. Wasiu Isiaka, disclosed that the state version of the National Sports Festival will hold in the last week of April, noting that two other states would be invited to participate to give the sports meet the needed competitiveness it deserves.

    Isiaka said that the state government, aside from compensating individual athletes for their performance, would also reward outstanding associations that excel at the festival.

    He urged association chairmen, secretaries, and coaches to unite and share constructive ideas towards a successful participation at the festival.

  • NSF’S gladdening resurrection

    •Nigeria’s flagship sports festival returns

    It is tempting and all too easy to focus on the difficulties and challenges of the just concluded 19th National Sports Festival (NSF) in Abuja and thus write off the entire event as a failure. That, in our view, would be hardly fair. In assessing the NSF, which held from 6th to 19th December, we take cognizance of the fact that the NSF, which used to be a major feature of the country’s sports calendar, had not held in the last six years. The last edition took place in Lagos in 2012. The fact that the National Sports Festival was resurrected at all compels us to look at the glass more optimistically as being half full rather than half empty.

    With the inability of the previously designated hosts, Cross Rivers State, to live up to this role, the Federal Government stepped in and provided the funds and venue to ensure that the NSF took place. This is a laudable appreciation of the invaluable contribution the bi-annual sports festival can make in discovering new talents and promoting sports development in the country.

    One highlight of the event was that, according to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. OlusadeAdeola, participating athletes shattered 59 old records and set new ones at the NSF. Forty-two of the new records set were in weightlifting while 15 were in swimming and in para-power lifting. The challenge now for the sports authorities is to nurture and support the newly discovered talents to develop and mature in their respective sports so that they become world class assets to the country.

    It is instructive, however, that in the 2012 edition of the NSF, Delta, Rivers, Lagos, Edo and Bayelsa States came 1st to 5th respectively on the medals table. And in the 19th edition of the games in Abuja, the same states came 1st to 5th with Delta emerging tops and followed by Rivers, Edo, Lagos and Bayelsa in that order. In the same vein, the same states that performed poorly in 2012 fared no better in 2018. There is certainly something wrong if the same set of states continue to emerge as top formers at the event. It shows that even sports development is not being witnessed across the country.

    The reluctance with which most states funded their athletes to participate in the NSF shows a lack of appreciation of the importance of the festival to the country’s sports development and the ability of sports to engage the youths positively and turn them away from social vices. In most states, athletes were either not paid their allowances or paid unimaginably ridiculous amounts. Most athletes complained of abysmal camping conditions in several states while in a number of states there was no camping at all and athletes had to go for training from their homes.

    Poor attendance of spectators to watch the various events has been identified as one of the main failures of the games. Certainly athletes cannot be motivated to give their best when the spectator stands are empty. Apart from intense publicity to attract crowds to watch the various sports, organizers of the event should also offer other side attractions like bringing in crowd pulling popular musicians and other entertainment personalities to perform.

    The organizers of the NSF must be commended for taking measures to prevent doping as 84 athletes were tested by the anti-doping unit of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports and the samples collected transmitted to the World Anti-Doping Agencies laboratory in Doha, Qatar for necessary analysis.

    While we applaud the FMYSD for the revival of the NSF, all hands must be on deck early now in preparation for the next edition scheduled to be hosted by Edo State. Luckily, the Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has pledged that his state will host the best edition of the NSF in its history.

    That is surely cheery news.

  • Okpekpe race organiser hails Dalung on NSF

    Okpekpe international 10km road race promoter, Mike Itemuagbor has congratulated the Honourable Minister for Sports, Solomon Dalung on the organisation of the 19th National Sports Festival which came to an end on Sunday.

    Itemuagbor says the Minister displayed uncommon courage to go ahead with the organisation of the event that suffered several postponements between 2014 and the most part of 2018.

    ”Congratulations for staging the 19th National Sports Festival after several postponements. I commend your courage and wisdom in reviving the only event that brings all Nigerians together. God bless you, ‘Itemuagbor said in a statement made available to journalists on Monday in Lagos.

    The Okpekpe race organiser is not unaware that events are becoming larger and somewhat more costly in terms of resources required to host them but the inherent advantages in terms of the development of athletes and the unity it engenders must have informed Dalung’s decision to brave all the financial odds.

    ‘This is why I am particularly happy the Honourable Minister spared no expense to make sure the event held and the greatest beneficiary is not just the athletes and the officials but Nigeria. This is particularly more so when religion and ethnicity are being used to divide us daily as a nation.

    ‘I am sure the athletes who were given the opportunity to compete and show how far they have gone in terms of their preparation will always be thankful to the Honourable Minister.’

    Itemuagbor is also delighted that Edo state has been chosen as the host of the 20th edition of the event.

    ‘Everybody knows Edo state is synonymous with sports and I am certain our sports-loving Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki will deliver a National Sports Festival that will serve as the benchmark for future editions.’

  • Edo athletes protest non-payment of allowances

    Edo athletes on Tuesday shut the gates of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, venue of the state’s training camp for the 19th National Sports Festival (NSF), against their coaches and other workers at the sports arena.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the athletes were protesting against the non-payment of their two weeks’ camp allowances.

    NAN reports that the protesting athletes, in their hundreds, prevented workers and other staff of the stadium from gaining entrance into the arena.

    The athletes said that they have been in camp for two weeks, training without the necessary facilities, feeding and transporting themselves to and from the stadium, for the morning and evening sessions.

    The athletes, who all joined in the protest, said they would no longer train for the sports festival, until their outstanding camp allowances were paid.

    Read Also: PDP chieftains seek Northwest votes for Atiku

    NAN reports that following about an hour of consultations between the athletes and the Edo Director of Sports, Sunny Airende, the athletes agreed to back down on the protest.

    Airende, who later addressed them, assured the athletes that efforts were being made to pay their outstanding allowances.

    He said although the money had been approved, it was yet to hit the camp, from where it would be withdrawn.

    According to him, “I am with you in this. Your camping allowances is not the only issue affected. As we speak, the state is yet to pay the participation fee for the festival.

    “Government officials had to rally round on Monday to raise some money for the advance team to travel on Tuesday, to make arrangements for accommodation, as well as pay the participation fee.

    “All I can assure you is that your camp allowances will surely be paid before you depart Benin for Abuja on Wednesday.’’

    NAN reports that the state is expected to be represented at the festival with 350 athletes.

  • Primary education should be compulsory – Northern Senators

    Primary education should be compulsory – Northern Senators

    The Northern Senators Forum ( NSF ), has called for the amendment of the section four of the 1999 constitution to make primary school education compulsory in the country.

    This is contained in a communiqué signed by the Forum ‘s Chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, and issued to newsmen on Wednesday in Katsina at the end of their two-day retreat.

    The Forum also called for the establishment, equipping, and provision of adequate staffing of more learning centers as well as promotion of girl-child education in the region.

    They said that the region should strive to reduce the number of out-of-school children roaming the streets.

    “The alarming rate of out-of-school children and less number of learning institutions in the region explains why the North is both educationally and economically backward,’’ it said.

    The communiqué also called for the revival of agricultural sector, industrial as well as manufacturing sectors so that teeming unemployed youths in the region could be actively engaged and empowered to keep them away from crimes.

    It urged state governments in the region to start planning for post-oil era by improving their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and revive moribund industries to provide employment opportunities to their people.

    The communiqué assured that the National Assembly would continue to perform their oversight functions seriously to ensure meaningful implementation of all federal budget provisions as it affects the three zones in the region.

    It further stated that the North shall take a well articulated, firm and common position on the issue of restructuring.

    “Northern members of the National Assembly would be an integral part of achieving that common platform that should also include devolution of power to states and local governments,’’ it said.

    Read also: Restructuring: Northern Senators, governors to meet in Katsina

    The forum also called for the amendment of the constitution to accommodate the traditional institution by prescribing specific roles and responsibility for them as they are the custodians of peace in their domain.

    It also called for unity among people in the region irrespective of their political, ethnic and religious differences.

    The senators resolved to partner with their counterparts in the House of Representatives and Northern Governors Forum to design a plan for the Northern region development.

    NAN

  • NSF Elections: Ex-internationals aim for posts in sports federation

    NSF Elections: Ex-internationals aim for posts in sports federation

    Having competed to the highest level of their career, some former athletes are now aiming to paddle the canoe of sports federations in the forthcoming National Sports Federation (NF) elections.

    From athletics to volleyball and taekwondo, the stake is getting higher as more ex-internationals are now eager to take charge of their sports from administrators.

    Already, some of the candidates jostling for posts have picked and submitted their election forms while there are strong indications that some of them are making frantic efforts to liase with stakeholders across the zones to garner supports.

    Also, the likes of Enefiok Udo-Obong, Mary Onyali-Omagbemi, Rosa Collins and Henry Amike are aiming for slots in the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) with Udo-Obong and Onyali-Omagbemi targeting the President and Vice President slots respectively.

    In volleyball, the coast is now clear for a new leadership in the federation after the new guidelines ruled out the outgoing President of Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVF), Habu Gumel  with former volleyball captain, Alhassan Yakmut  targeting the Presidency.

    Yakmut, who was a former Director General of the defunct National sports Commission (NSC), is hoping to use his wealth of experience to turn the fortune of the comatose sport around.

    Yakmut has expressed his willingness to take charge of the sport that shot him to the limelight with the plans to revive the fortune of volleyball in the country.

    In taekwondo, the outgoing Vice President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, Margret Binga is hoping to go head-to-head against outgoing President, George Ashiru, whose tenure was characterized by ill-fighting among board members.

    Binga, a World Taekwondo Federation (WTF)-certified referee and two-time African champion is aiming to return the sport to its rightful place after Nigeria missed out from the Rio O2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

  • Nollywood stakeholders drum support for Ambode

    Nollywood stakeholders drum support for Ambode

    The governorship bid of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Akinwumi Ambode, received a boost on Monday, when a cross-section of Nigerian movie practitioners under the aegis of the Nollywood Stakeholders Forum (NSF) declared their support for him.

    At a press conference held in Ikeja, coordinator of the group, Harrris Chuma, described the victory of the APC at the presidential polls as a welcome development which will positively bring the much-desired change in the nation’s creative industry.

    Nollywood, he said, cannot be said to occupy a strategic position in the Nigerian economic sphere without the continued presence of the government.

    “We therefore call on the incoming administration to address the myriad of issues militating against our practice, guarantee the protection of Intellectual Property, support and empower Nollywood practitioners to enable them compete favourably in the comity of international movie practitioners,” he said According to him; “We at Nollywood Stakeholders Forum will continue to work with everything at our disposal to ensure the victory of APC governorship candidate in Lagos State and other states. We therefore use this medium to reemphasize our support for the election of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode as the next governor of Lagos State, the entertainment capital of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We urge all our members and colleagues to unite and work in mobilization for the victory of APC in Lagos State. Let us do it again, we did it for GMB, we can do it for Ambode,” he added.