We’re making sports sector attractive for investment – Dikko

The Chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC), Malam Shehu Dikko, has said that efforts are being made to rebrand the Nigerian sports sector to make it attractive for investors.
Dikko spoke on Wednesday in Abuja during the executive board meeting of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) consisting of all the heads of sports federations in the country.
The meeting was organised to draw a framework and clean the system, which in turn will attract investors.
“We see the sports federation presidents as our operational officers; they are the ones on the field, and are the ones driving the individual sports, as well as the ones driving the vision that we are working on.
“So, we have to align our thoughts and our vision to align with what we are trying to do in line with the mandate President Bola Tinubu has given us; so, we have to explain that to them so that they can understand it.
“You have to clean the system up; put it in the right perspective and make sure that it is attractive to the big supporters, investors and everybody to get there.
“So, we have to put that framework together; that is why we said we are resetting, refocusing and relaunching.
“As the Chairman of the National Sports Commission, myself and the Director General are invited to be part of it.”
According to Dikko, Tinubu is keen on seeing sports contribute to the economy.
“Tinubu is very intentional sports development; he believes sports should be a key driver of the economy; it should be a platform that will create opportunities, create jobs, create social impact and increase our security.
“If sports is working, security will improve because the young ones will get something to do; so, he is very intentional about it and therefore, he feels that the best way to do it is to go in this direction.
“We have a clear plan of how to do it but it is not about bringing the money; it is about bringing the right money.
“We will focus on making things better, reset our thinking to be more domestic, and relaunch our sports to make it more positive.
“When we do that, then you can see part of our key pillars to get the private sector involved.”
Dikko said that the president had his target for instituting the NSC, as he was keen on removing obstacles to sports development in the country.
“The president is very bold and very deliberate in whatever he does and has technically removed sports from all the bureaucratic complaints and issues, and put it directly on his table.
“You can see the drive going forward; everybody is appreciating that process; everybody is seeing the direction he is going, and that is why you can see the whole industry is calm; everybody is focusing on their assignment,” Dikko said.