As national sports federations elections draw near, a former Secretary of the Nigeria Amputee Football Federation (NAFF), Pius Asaba has urged the incoming members to be prudent with resources given to execute programmes.
Asaba told Tidesports source yesterday in Lagos that it was the federations that could gain good support and sponsorships from corporate bodies and individuals.
He said such was necessary to do away with poor sponsorship which has gone a long way to hinder the execution of important programmes proposed by the federations in the year.
Tidesports reports that the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has announced that it had agreed with the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) that elections into the boards of the National Sports Federations will hold on May 30.
Hearing of Petitions and Appeals Cases will hold from June 1 to June 10 June, while Bye-Elections arising from Petitions and Appeals for Zonal and National Elections come up on June 13.
Inauguration of the National Sports Federation Boards holds on June 27 June.
“I need to emphasise that federations must raise their games in organising programmes and most importantly be accountable for resources made available to them.
“The federations must make sure that programmes for which money is meant and provided for are channelled to the project, while doing away with frivolousness.
“They must seek to impress and gain the confidence of sponsors that have gone the extra mile to invest their resources in promoting the sport and sustaining athletes in competitions,’’ he said.
The former amputee football federation scribe, added that such measures would also attract potential sponsors that were needed by the federations to organise activities on regular basis.
According to him, the federations are fully aware of the directive by the authorities to source for funds to enable them to organise their annual programmes.
“The only way for any federation to gain government support is to present achievements recorded so far because the government is saddled with responsibilities from various corners.
“It’s a race before them, so each federation must aspire to take the lead to gain the attention of government for funding to major international events,’’ he added.
He advised the incoming board members of the various federations to increase awareness of their sports and come up with programmes that could attract the interest of sponsors.