Sports Minister pledges support for FASU Games hosting by Nigeria

By Samuel Akpan

The Minister of Sports Development, Sen. John Enoh, has promised support for the Federation of African University Games (FASU) scheduled to take place in Nigeria.

Receiving the organizing committee for the games in his office in Abuja, the minister assured the committee members that the ministry will do everything within its power to ensure that the games are successfully hosted by the country.

In a statement on Wednesday by the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Sports Development, Diana Mary-Nsan, Enoh decried the present state of NUGA games, advising the committee to take a critical look at NUGA with a view to finding out what made it such a huge success in the past.

The minister assured the delegation of the ministry’s willingness to allow the Nigerian team to use its facilities.

He observed that the existence and use of high performance centres is the distinguishing factor that separates countries that excel from those that do not, adding that sports should be “cooperative and collaborative at local, sub-national, and national levels.”

He expressed the ministry’s determination to get the country back to school sports because of its immense benefits.

He assured that after the ongoing Paralympic Games, he will lead a ministry delegation to pay an official visit to his counterpart in the Education Ministry to explore how both ministries could forge a common ground for the development of school sports.

Earlier, the President and Chairman of the organizing committee of the FISU Games, Dr. Mohammed Bawa, lauded the grassroots-driven vision of the minister in sports administration.

He appealed to the minister to avail the Nigerian team for the games the necessary equipment for training, which he emphasized would give them the critical experience that will prepare them for the games and make them competitive.

Bawa, who observed that the mandatory visa fee of $200 was too high, appealed to the minister to liaise with his counterpart in the Ministry of Interior to grant a waiver for students.

Such a waiver, he said, would boost the mass participation of students from various African countries.