BY EZEOCHA NZEH
As Nigeria prepares for the up coming 2024 Olympics games in Paris, France, the House of Representatives Committee on Sports has tasked the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC) to take measures in collaboration with the federal Ministry of Sports to ensure full preparation ofTeam Nigeria to podium.positions
Speaking when it summoned the NOC before the committee on Thursday chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Sports Hon. Ekene Abubakar Adams, said the committee would be ready to offer and legislative assistant to the NOC and other relevant bodies to ensure full preparation of Nigerian athletes for the games
Hon.Adams, who represents Kajuri/Chikum federal constituency at the green chambers, emphasized that Nigeria must move away from its previous status of being mere participants without medals at the games warning that athletes must be given full motivation and training facilities proof ided for them to target medals at the Paris games
The committee chairman who regretted that the athletes were yet to receive their bonuses and allowances several.months after the AllAfrica games in Ghana wondered how the sports administrators and NOC would expect positive results from them, even as he slammed the authorities for paying themselves, while the athletes, who he described ad the major actors and reason they went for the games are still been owed
Members of the committee, who spoke at the meeting, emphasized the need for the athletes to be given priority treatment ahead of the administrator, since they are the major actors that would make the nations’ flag fly high and national anthem sang at the games
The House committee therefore unanimously agreed to visit the athletes at their various camps to give them words of encouragement as well as assure them of non repeat of the past treatment to them by authorities
The committee also voted to sponsor a bill which will be discussed at plenary to promote yearly budget for trying of Nigerian athletes for good games revord
“Our mission is to break the jinx in Paris Olympics. We have remained mere participants at the games since after the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, where the country won two hold medals in athletics and football
” So we are desirous to change this narrative, hence we summoned the NOC for this critical meeting. Having heard the NOC, we will extend similar invitation to the Minister of Sports and the various federations whose athletes would be participating at the games. We really want to compete for medals, and the achieve this, out athletes must be well prepared and motivated to be in the right frame of mind to compete with others.
“We want to know the challenges the federations may be facing ahead of preparing the athletes so that we can use our legislative position and the constitution which backed the setting up of the committee to ensure we are ready to face other nations squarely in Paris,” t
“We have identified funding as a major challenge and one of the way to solve the problem is to sponsor a bill where budget for preparations of athletes for Olympic Games will be captured in each year. The funds will then be disbursed to the Sports Federations by the Ministry to ease their tasks when chasing qualification tickets in different international competitions across the world.”
Addressing the committee, the president of Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC) Habu Gumel, explained that the committee, though a non Governmental organization, collaborates with the Sports ministry to ensure clean participation of Team Nigeria at the games
The NOC Predident disclosed that 75 Nigerian athletes have so far qualified for the games in athletics weightlifting badminton, wrestling boxing and others, adding that with its collaboration with the Sports ministry, it has secured accommodation for the Nigerian contingent
He disclosed further that a combined team of the NOC and Sports ministry is currently in Paris, seat hing for a befitting pre games camp for Nigerians athletes to continue their training before they wound relocate to the Olympics games village on July 27
On the NOC contributions to the development of Nigerian athletes ahead of the games, Gumel said; ‘We provided Olympics training scholarship for 19 athletes before the Tokyo games and two of the athletes won medals in the next games
“We have been collaborating with the Sports ministry to ensure qualifications of our athletes for the Paris Olympics games”
He noted that while the foreign athletes are being supported to train at the various bases, local athletes have remained in camp in Abuja and Yenegoa ahead of the games
When asked about the readiness of Team Nigeria and their chances to win medals at the Olympic games in France, the NOC Predident revealed that, “for an athlete to compete favourably with the best in the world and win medal at the Olympics, it requires a four-year program.Whike he emphasized that preparation for the next Olympics games begins immediately the last one ends, Gumel lamented that lack of funds has posed a major set back and reason why some of the athletes struggle to compete with others in the international championship.
