Sports Development Minister, Senator John Owan Enoh, has described the Sports Performance Reward Fund (SPRF) as a well-packaged project worthy of commendation.
According to the minister, SPRF, which is meant to reward excellent performances at international competitions, would motivate athletes and their coaches to work harder, knowing that they would be rewarded for every honour they bring to Nigeria.
Speaking when the SPRF board of trustees paid him a courtesy call in his office at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja, at the weekend, the minister said the SPRF “will fill a major vacuum – the nexus between performance, incentives and rewards – that has dogged Nigeria’s sports for years,” adding, “the growth of the sports sector will thrive much better in the hands of the private sector.
“The feel and nudge I am getting from the Presidency is to get the private sector to invest more in sports and to take the front seat in driving the growth of sports in Nigeria – essentially, to put sports in the hands of the private sector and if there is one group that I need to court and work with, that body is the SPRF. You will have the full support of the government.
“I am very impressed by the standing of persons who have come together to form this body, one of them, Mrs Ifueko Omogui-Okauru, who is the Vice President Finance of the SPRF, I had worked with when I was chairman of the finance committee of Senate.
“These are people who will not have anything to do with any organisation except the transparency threshold is topnotch and the processes that will ensure its sustainability are firmly in place.
“I have no doubt that the rewards in place will fire and motivate Nigeria’s sporting youth to excel in competitions at all levels.”
Earlier, SPRF President, Dr Ahmadu Musa Kida, told the minister that the fund’s two major aims were to institutionalise a sure reward that would benefit generations of Nigerian youth and motivate them to put in the hard work and sacrifice to excel on the global stage; and also attract and motivate the private sector to invest in sports, potential sports super stars and facilities for profit.
Kida also said the SPRF aims to raise “in the first instance, the sum of N10 billion that will be available for rewards to generations of sports men and women who finish on the podium at the
Olympics, Commonwealth, Africa Games and major world championships.
He said the fund would reward an Olympic gold with N10 million, silver N7.5 million and bronze N5 million, adding that a Commonwealth gold will attract N5 million, silver N3 million and bronze N2 million, while the Africa Games and major world championships will attract the same reward of N3 million for gold, N2 million for silver and N1 Million for bronze.
Present at the visit to the minister were members of the SPRF board of trustees including, Kida, Vice President National and Government Affairs – Henry Odein Ajumogobia; Vice President Finance, Mrs. Ifueko Omogui-Okauru; Vice President Diaspora, Prof. Wale Sulaiman and Chief Tony Akiotu.
Others are Dr. Onye Godfrey Achilihu, Dr Joe Adom Kyaagba, Olympic gold medallists, Kanu Nwankwo and Chioma Ajunwa; as well as Yusuf Datti, Mrs. Patricia Sulaiman, who is SPRF’s Deputy Executive Secretary; and the executive secretary, Godwin Kienka.
