Sports
DG NIS Wants NSC Board Constituted, Seeks Increased In Funding
But his call for the board is, allegedly, not going down well within the top hierarchy of the NSC.
Shuaibu, a former Edo State deputy governor, who made the appeal yesterday, during a budget defence session at the National Assembly in Abuja, stated that constituting the NSC’s 17-man board would play a critical role in revitalising the sports sector.
According to him, a properly constituted NSC board would provide strategic direction and institutional stability necessary for long-term sports development.
He also renewed his calls for increased funding to reposition the National Institute of Sports (NIS) and advance sports development in Nigeria.
Shuaibu reaffirmed the institute’s commitment to fulfilling its mandate of training manpower for the sports ecosystem and promoting grassroots sports development, stressing that inadequate funding remains a major constraint.
“Our mandate is to train manpower for the sports ecosystem and promote sports from the grassroots,” he said. “But we cannot achieve this without adequate government funding. We need a budget that reflects our vision and mission to improve sports in Nigeria,” he stated.
Earlier, the Chairman of the House Committee on Sports, Kabiru Amadu, decried the poor funding of the institute, describing it as a critical pillar in national sports development.
Amadu emphasised the need for increased budgetary allocation to enable the NIS discharge its responsibilities effectively and pledged the committee’s commitment to working with relevant stakeholders to improve its funding for optimal performance.
Meanwhile, a top official of the National Sports Commission (NSC), has described Shuaibu’s call for proper constitution of the body as ‘unbelievable.’
The official refused to comment further when The Guardian urged him to clarify his statement on Wednesday.