Erstwhile Director General of the now defunct National Sports Commission (NSC), Alhassan Yakmut has emphasised the need for the incoming President Ahmed Bola Tinubu administration to ensure full implementation of the National Sports Industry Policy (NSIP) approved by the Muhammadu Buhari-led outgoing Federal Executive Council for the administration of sports in the country.
The former Nigerian professional volleyball player, who gave the charge at an interaction with the members of the FCT chapter of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), specifically urged the next minister that will be at the helm of sports to design and construct very contemporary NSIP implementation strategies for the sports industry in the country to start flourishing.
He commended the outgoing administration for initiating the Sports Industry Policy which outlines an effective means of improving the funding of sports, delineating the obligations of the different tiers of government, the participation of the private sector and other stakeholders in sports.
“The National Sports Industry Policy (NSIP) came at the point when an administration was coming to an end and the new president has been elected. So, the new administration that will be coming in, needs to fill in the gap and ensure full implementation of the policy.
“The policy is well drafted and documented. The new regime will now have to also design and construct very contemporary implementation strategies for the sports industry policy to flourish,” he said.
Yakmut also tasked the incoming administration on the implementation of 10-year football masterplan approved by the Buhari administration, saying the master-plan was designed to bring Nigeria out of the doldrums of running football for peanuts.
The football master plan was supposed to bring us out of the doldrums of running football for peanuts rather than for economic development.
“The economy of the UK is being turned around by football and football is being quoted in the stock exchange. But here in Nigeria, football is a community project like social service and that is what we need to change,” he said.
