Sports Minister and Chairman, National Sports Commission, Dr. Tammy Danagogo has relished the harvest of victories posted at the weekend by Nigerian athletes in various competitions held around the continent and has showered praises on them.

Tammy Danagogo

The Minister who followed the minute by minute account of the Flying Eagles 3-1 victory over their host, Senegal in Sunday’s opening match of the African Youth Championship in Dakar was elated that the Manu Garba-tuotored side adhered to his message that they should be focused in their games and prove that they have matured from being the world’s U-17 champions to a conquering side.

He equally hailed the performance of Team Nigeria athletes at the just concluded Aican Junior Athletics Championship in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia were they placed tops with 12 gold, 8 silver and 7 bronze medals, a total haul of 27 as against the 19 they won in the last edition in Mauritius.

Another victory the minister is happy about is the 2-0 win of the U-23 team tutored by Samson Siasia over their Gabonese counterparts in the All Africa Games qualifier in Abuja on Saturday which brought their aggregate win to 6-1 having won the first leg in Libreville 4-1.

“Our teams did so well at the weekend. The junior athletes were wonderful in Ethiopia, topping the medals table with 12 gold medals and improved on their performance from the last edition. The Flying Eagles started their campaign in Senegal on a very good note and I have no doubt they will continue in that spirit until the very end,” the Minister said, adding that the Under-23 football team “were not left out in the winning streak.”

In a statement by the Minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Patrick Omorodion, Dr. Danagogo added that “The National Sports Commission will continue to provide the various federations with the enabling environment and support to prepare their athletes to be able to post podium performances in international competitions.”

He equally urged the national male basketball team preparing for this weekend’s first leg of the 2015 Afrobasket qualifier “to put in their best against Burkina Faso so that the second leg here will be a mere formality.”