Boxing promoter and sports critic, Martins Osaile, says the Federal Government needs to inject more funds towards enhancing the development of sports.
Speaking in Lagos State, venue of the ongoing 18th National Sports Festival, Eko 2012, Osaile said: “Nigeria is not a serious country.
“Imagine Jamaica, with a population that is not up to that of Lagos State, voted $300 million (about N46 billion) while Nigeria’s budget for sports is just N9 billion.
“How do you compete with such a country?”
Osaile described as “a huge joke” the Presidential Retreat on Sports held in Abuja in October, saying: “The government is just teasing the public.
“There is nothing serious about the retreat.
“They did not say anything new.”
He advised the ministry to engage technocrats in the execution of its programmes, “if they want us to takes them serious.”
He also queried government’s inability to establish measures that could attract private sector participation in sports development.
“There should be tax rebate for companies that sponsor sports and the importation of sports equipment should not attract any tariff at the ports,” he said.
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