The Commonwealth Handball Association, CHA, has appealed to the federal government to come to the aid of the association especially in the area of funding.
Newly elected Secretary-General of the Association , Jibril Saidu made the call in Abuja when speaking to newsmen at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja
Zaidu called on the government to re-admit the CHA into its budgetary allocation like it was previously been done.
He said his emergence on Sunday at the CHA Elective General Assembly in Turkey calls for celebration.
“Indeed the CHA Secretariat is the only Commonwealth secretariat hosted by any nation in Africa and outside Europe. This is a towering diplomatic achievement for Nigeria as its profile among the sovereign states of the commonwealth is greatly enhanced.
“International best practice demands that nations hosting secretariats of organs of the Commonwealth of Nations such as the CHA and other similar international bodies such as the United Nations, African Union, ECOWAS etc fund the activities of the secretariats.
“Thus it is incumbent upon the Federal Republic of Nigeria having successfully lobbied for the relocation of the secretariat to Nigeria to fund its activities. With the immense respect accorded Nigeria by the British Commonwealth Handball playing nations yesterday this responsibility cannot be over emphasized.
“I therefore call on the President and Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the National Assembly to restore the CHA to its former funding status when Nigeria included the CHA on its annual budget and ensured cash backing of the budgetary provisions for the CHA.” Zaidu concluded.
