The Minister of Youth and Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalung, has said he is prepared for probe following the accusation of mismanagement leveled against the Ministry.
The Ministry was alleged to have mismanaged funds for the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil.
Reacting to the allegation in a statement made available by the Minister’s aide, Nneka Ikem-Anibeze, Dalung said: “Part of reasons why we had to declare a state of emergency in sports is to take steps to regain public confidence which we have lost and this will take us to looking into what we have done in the past and where we didn’t do it well.
“These are issues that have to do with law and investigation because you must have facts to make allegations of mismanagement.
“So, during the period of state of emergency, and when mechanism and steps will be taken, I will be glad if people with evidence of misappropriation of funds will step forward with proof as this will help us build public confidence.
“We will need the co-operation of the state and local government in our quest to make changes at the grassroots level. Federations, athletes and journalists are also important components in this chain of change and reforms.”
On the National Sports Reform Committee on Sports report submitted last week, the Minister reasoned that for the report to be fully implemented, everybody must contribute positively to actualize the dream.
Dalung said: “We will also ensure that this report is made public and every stage of implementation is advertised and brought to the knowledge of Nigerians. This will help rekindle public confidence and assure investors that we will no longer do things the way we used to.”
Despite hinting that not all aspects of the report will be implemented within the tenure of the present administration, Dalung promised that the ministry will do its best to set the ball rolling.
According to him, sports is capable of becoming a billion dollar industry in Nigeria and needs a new direction at a time when the nation is trying to diversify its streams of income to revamp the economy.
He enjoined all stakeholders to be constructive in their criticism rather than employing the pull down at all cost tactics.
Dalung said: “To attract sponsors and investors, we need to present a united front. If we continue to attack ourselves on the pages of newspapers, nobody will take us serious or trust us enough to invest in us. We have demonstrated since inception, that we are open to advice and constructive criticisms. People don’t need to go on air or take to the pages of newspaper to talk about what they feel should be done when they have access to us at the ministry.”
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