By Ime Bassey
As the Nigerian Weightlifting Federation continues in its bid to discover talents across the various states in the country, 1st Vice President of the federation, Alhaji Mohammed Halilu has said they are not afraid to face the huge task of sourcing for funds to organise competitions in the six geopolitical zones.

In a chat with Saturday Vanguard Sports in Abuja, the former Nasarawa State Commissioner of Sports said the competitions are not only to discover talents, but also to make the sports popular in the country.

“I know it is not going to be an easy task to raise funds in the various geopolitical zones because it is not a game that everybody is interested in but we are bent on giving it our best shot. It is when we endeavour to organise the sports at the local and state government levels, that its awareness will increase which in turn will help in the discovery of new talents

“We have commenced discussions with the governors in the six geopolitical zones to support our course. All may not answer us, one or two will, and we will carry on from there to make weightlifting what it ought to be in the country,” Alhaji Halilu said.

He however, reiterated that the ranking of three of the federations’ female lifters will spur federation to plunge into the grass-root for fresh talents.

“I am very happy that the growth of weightlifting is appreciating tremendously in Nigeria  and also the world with respect to achievement. The lifters that were ranked were not ranked from their houses but from competitions attended. This is why we are keen on making the grass-root our next point of call so we will discover more lifters,” Alhaji Halilu added.