Gracious Akujobi The Director-General, National Sports Commission (NSC), Gbenga Elegbeleye has promised that the commission will sponsor two athletes from the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to the next Commonwealth Games slated for Glasgow, Scotland in 2014.
He gave the assurance on Tuesday when he paid a courtesy visit to the Commandant General of the NSCDC, Dr. Ade Abolurin in Abuja.
Elegbeleye, said the offer is in recognition of the role the organization is playing in the development of sports in Nigeria.
He noted that often times the system do not give athletes the commensurate encouragement or due recognition they need to perform optimally.
According to him, “there is no singular organization like the NSCDC that have contributed tremendously to the growth and development of sports in Nigeria in recent time”.
He further said that the best thing that has happened to sports in Nigeria is the NSCDC, adding that the organization is one of the greatest employers of sportsmen in Nigeria.
While pledging the continued support of the NSC to the organization for its contribution to the advancement of the fortunes of sports in Nigeria, the Director General used the occasion to canvass the support of corporate organizations to sports development, maintaining that government alone cannot fund sports.
In his remarks the Commandant of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps, Dr. Ade Abolurin said that the problem of sports development in Nigeria was that of funding.
He called on the critical stakeholders to ensure adequate funding of the Commission, stressing that when the NSC is financially encouraged it will definitely have a ripple effect on the athletes and coaches who are the immediate beneficiaries of such gestures.
The hall mark of the occasion is the presentation of “Award of Excellence” to the Commandant for his relentless efforts to the development of sports in Nigeria.
