Get Guardian on Google…Tinubu has political will to transform Nigerian sports – Shaibu
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, Hon. Adeyinka Anthony Adeboye, on Thursday said that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is working to establish a sustainable grassroots sports development framework that will create opportunities for young talents across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
The president said that Nigeria risks losing potential world champions because many talented children lack the opportunities and support required to develop their abilities.
Adeboye, disclosed this in Abuja, during a press briefing on the National Grassroots Sports Summit 2026, scheduled for November 18 and 19 at the Banquet Hall, State House, Presidential Villa.
The summit, themed, “Creating a New Pathway for Sustainable Grassroots Sports Development,” is expected to bring together government institutions, sports federations, state and local government representatives, private sector operators, development partners, athletes, coaches and other stakeholders to develop a roadmap for the sector.
He said the summit was designed to move sports development from isolated interventions to a coordinated national approach, with emphasis on practical and measurable outcomes.
He said the initiative was aimed at moving the country from accidental talent discovery to a coordinated national system capable of identifying, nurturing and developing sporting talents from an early age.
He said the summit would focus on addressing longstanding gaps in grassroots sports development, particularly inadequate sporting facilities, limited access to coaching and the absence of structured pathways for discovering and nurturing young talents.
He cited young girls without access to football pitches and boys in rural communities who train without proper equipment, coaching or encouragement as examples of talents that could be lost to systemic neglect.
He said: “We must tell the Nigerian child who has not yet been discovered that the country also believes in them. We must tell the young athletes in Zamfara, the schoolgirls in Ebonyi, the talented footballer in Bayelsa, the runner in Oyo State and the aspiring basketball player in Benue that their dreams matter.
“We must build a country where the journey to sporting greatness does not depend on where a child was born, the financial status of their parents or whether they know someone in authority.”
Adeboye commended President Tinubu for what he described as his commitment to unlocking the potential of sports in Nigeria, citing the administration’s support for athletes and the restoration of the National Sports Commission (NSC).
He also called on corporate organisations to invest in grassroots sports, while urging state governors, local government chairmen, parents and teachers to support sporting activities in their communities and schools.
In his remarks, the Director-General of the National Institute for Sports (NIS), Philip Shaibu, said President Tinubu had demonstrated the political will required to transform Nigeria’s sports sector.
Shaibu said the President’s personal interest in sports, support for athletes and approval of the NSC had created an opportunity to address longstanding administrative and structural challenges.
He said the establishment of the commission was intended to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks associated with ministerial administration and introduce a more efficient, private-sector-driven approach to sports development.
He said: “One of the major problems affecting sports development in Nigeria is bureaucracy. We believed that moving to a commission would help bridge that gap and create a new approach to managing sports.”
Shaibu expressed optimism that the proposed summit would produce recommendations capable of shaping a comprehensive policy direction for the sector.
He, however, urged stakeholders to extend accountability beyond the President, governors and local government chairmen to appointed officials responsible for implementing government policies.
He maintained that officials entrusted with sports development responsibilities should be held accountable for their performance and removed where they failed to deliver.
