I came to shake the table, says sports minister

• ‘I remain a member of Nigerian sports family’

Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, has taken a self-appraisal of his administration in the last four years and declared that he remains a member of the nation’s sports family forever.

“I came into office to shake the table, put in place the necessary things that has taken us to a new height in the journey so far,” Dare said, while speaking at a reception held in Asaba, Delta State, for the state’s athletes, who were part of Team Nigeria to the recently concluded African U-18 and U-20 Championships in Ndola, Zambia.

Dare, whose tenure as Sports Minister terminates on May 29, said that he did his best for the nation’s sports.

“I remain a member of the sports family,” Dare said. “Not many people remember that I played basketball in my youth days. Till today, I still play basketball. In my house at Ogbomoso, I have a basketball court. In my house in Abuja, I have a basketball court. I also have the post where I throw basketball in my house in the United States.”

Turning to the athletes, Dare urged them to continue with the job they started in Zambia. “You painted a picture of what to come in Nigerian track and field. In three or four years, the likes of Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume would have reached their peak. With the crop that came from Ndola, we have hope.

“We have to put the group together and do the right things. We can do well at the African Games and Olympics.”

Dare commended Delta State government for its contribution to sports in Nigeria. He said: “We have seen the contributions of states in the country. In our adopt-an- athlete programme, Delta supported 16 athletes, and other states adopted just one or two athletes.”