Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko, has called on presidents of Nigeria’s sports federations to embrace transparency, accountability and good governance, stressing that effective administration remains the foundation for improved athlete welfare and sporting success.
Key Highlights:
Dikko urged sports federations to embrace transparency and accountability.
He stressed proper financial management and athlete welfare.
Federations were urged to follow established election rules.
He said sports elections should focus on unity, not opposition.
Dikko urged all stakeholders to work together after elections.
Dikko made the call on Monday in Abuja, while speaking on the sidelines of a good governance seminar for presidents of sports federations in Nigeria, organised under the Olympic Solidarity programme of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in collaboration with the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC).
He said the seminar was timely because federation presidents are responsible for providing the leadership and administrative direction needed to ensure that athletes, coaches and other technical personnel can perform effectively.
According to Dikko, good governance in sports must cover areas including financial management, transparency, inclusivity, accountability and adherence to established rules.
“This is a seminar on good governance that has to do with how to manage their finances, their inclusivity, their transparency, and how they entirely get their federations to work,” Dikko said in an interview with The Trumpet.
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He described federation presidents as key administrators who employ technical personnel, engage coaches and create the structures through which athletes can develop.
Dikko said properly governed federations would be better positioned to plan effectively, improve athletes’ welfare and ultimately produce better results in international competitions.
He also called for greater understanding of electoral processes within sports federations, particularly as several federations prepare for leadership elections.
On the issue of elections, Dikko urged stakeholders to follow the rules governing each federation, stressing that sports should not be treated like a political contest.
“In sports, there is no opposition in sports. We are all working for the same outcome,” he said, adding that elections should be seen as a process for selecting leaders who would work with all stakeholders to develop their respective sports.
Dikko said the NSC had already managed more than 40 federation elections with little or no major dispute, expressing confidence that the ongoing processes in other federations could also be successfully concluded if stakeholders adhered to their rules.
He specifically urged stakeholders involved in federation elections to respect established procedures, saying the process should determine leadership while all stakeholders should subsequently work together for the development of their sport.
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