The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare has assured that his Ministry is committed to the delivery of the dividends of good governance to the citizens, through the promotion of greater private sector investment in the Sports Sector.
He said this in his opening remarks at the Inter Ministerial Technical Session on Sports Industry Development organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development in collaboration with the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG).
The Minister while laying emphasis on the specific targets for every sector of the economy within the Next Level Agenda Administration handed down by President Muhammadu Buhari, he said,
“Derivable for the Sports Sector, within the Agenda can be categorized in the twin goals of developing appropriate Public Private Partnership model and delivering on the establishment of a private sector driven Sports Development Fund to support, as well as, invest in various programmes and Sport facilities”.
“The overarching goals of these initiatives aside creation of wealth and jobs are to
In order to achieve these set targets, the Sports Industry Thematic Group was born through the Ministry’s interactions with the organized private sector using the platform of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG)”, he added.
He said the Ministry’s desire was to pursue the set targets vigorously in line with the declaration in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
“…sport to the realization of development and peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect and the contributions it makes to the empowerment of women and of young people, individuals and communities as well as to health, education and social inclusion objectives”.
He then disclosed that the NESG and the Ministry are working on a policy framework for achieving these goals.
“Commendable progress has been made in this regard as we have now thought it necessary to move to the next phase of sharing this vision and to solicit the cooperation and buy-in of sister agencies as a prelude to a launch to the larger private sector groups”, Mr. Dare disclosed.
While highlighting the importance of Private sector partnerships with the Public sector in tapping into the business potentials of the Sports Sector, he stressed the need for a framework for tapping into the business potentials of sports development and its commercialization, which will be provided by a National Sports Policy.
“It is imperative that the National Sports Policy Document is tailored to reach mutual understanding, vision, policy and targets in the field of sports. It will also provide coordination and cooperation in the services and activities of the relevant public institutions, organizations and non-governmental organizations as well as other stakeholders.”
