The Director-General of the
National Sports Commission (NSC), Gbenga Elegbeleye, has charged federations whose sports would be featured at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, to avoid doping while representing the country.
Elegbeleye said this in Abuja, during a sensitisation programme on Anti-doping for Secretaries, Head Coaches and Technical Directors involved in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Team Nigeria would feature in eight sports at the Games scheduled to hold in Glasgow, Scotland from July 23 to August 3.
The director-general said though, he expected Nigeria to put up an impressive performance, the athletes should do the country proud without using performance enhancing drugs.
“We lost one of the 11 medals we won at the 2010 edition to doping and by records, we had three athletes that tested positive to doping at the same edition.
“But this time around, we don’t want to have such records, so we believe that the sensitisation starts from the federation coaches and technical directors.
“They should monitor the athletes because they can be caught, but may just want to try it out. So, we want everyone to take the issue of doping seriously.
“We want to win because of good preparations and we have the ability to do it, without enhancing drugs because it tarnishes the image of the country,’’ Elegbeleye said.
He said the coaches should not hide any of the athletes on the assumption that they were prospective medallists.
“Do not hide anybody who you see as suspicious, just because you see such as a potential medallist.
“There is no competition for federations on who comes first in terms of the number of medals won and your jobs are not at stake.
“So, we want you to win honourably,’’ the NSC director-general said.
Elegbeleye said the commission was in the process of inviting the Secretary of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), to ensure that Nigeria was not blacklisted in combating doping.
He expressed optimism that Nigeria could surpass its previous achievements at the 2010 edition of the Games held in New Delhi, India.
“We won 11 gold medals at that edition but now, we should be able to win at least 15 gold medals.