Sports has potential to take Nigeria out of recession, says Dalung

Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, has said that the sector has the capacity to move Nigeria out of the current recession.

Speaking yesterday while receiving the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai, who paid him a courtesy visit accompanied by members of the Central Organising Committee of the 16th Nigerian Army Sports Festival coming up on October 10 to 16, Dalung said sports “remains the only industry that can move Nigeria out of recession. It is only in sports that you can enumerate about five to six benefits that are very key to National development.

“Sports provide valuable employment today… it is a foreign exchange earner and can also help build a tourism base,” he said, adding that if money was invested in sports, it would take may youths off the streets.

The minister emphasized that sports development in Nigeria had been sustained by the country’s military and the paramilitary organs, adding that the number of great athletes, who have competed internationally and made Nigeria proud through the numerous medals they won over the years could be traced to the military.

Dalung also praised the military for the gallant steps it has taken to organise an event of this magnitude, noting that the challenges the army faced over the years due to crises and insurgency in the country is worthy of praise.