Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubabar, has declared that there will be a revolution in sports in Nigeria, if he is elected President of the country in February 2019.
In his policy document which was released on Monday, November 19 and circulated by his Media Aide, Mr. Paul Ibe, Atiku was crisp in his avowed determination to make sports a major lifeline for the Nigerian youths even as he also sees it as recreational for those who have passed the youthful sports age. This is as contained in his policy document which was unveiled on Monday, November 19.
He listed his aims thus:
. Improve sporting facilities in all the States of the country
• Diversify into the promotion of minority sports to give Nigeria a better chance of winning international laurels
• Encourage the sport sector as a job and wealth creation platform
• Promote sport as a mechanism for national unity and foreign policy
• Partner with the private sector to open sports academies for persons with disabilities that will operate across the regions
HIS POLICY OBJECTIVES FOR SPORTS
.Harness the limitless opportunities in sports
• Encourage optimal youth participation in sports
• Commercialize sports • Promote greater funding of sports facilities and infrastructure by all levels of government and the private sector
HIS OVERVIEW ON SPORTS
. Sports can excite and unite the people
• Sports are also big foreign exchange earners for any country that grooms its youths and projects them into international stardom
• Countries that host international sporting events generate revenue by promoting tourism, local businesses and sustainable employment for their people
• In Nigeria, the sports sector is faced with series of challenges including inadequate harnessing of opportunities present in sports, inadequate attention to minority sports, under-funding, politicization of sports and poor management