By John Egbokhan, Uyo
Nigeria’s Sports Minister and Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Malam Bolaji Abdullahi performed his first official function as substantive sports minister yesterday when he declared open the Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria Olympic Committee  at the Le Meridien Hotel and Golf Resort in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.

At a colourful, dramatic and well-attended ceremony, the NOC held a lavish ceremony which marked their efforts in the last one and a half years.

With about two months to the start of the London Olympics Games, this year’s AGM of the NOC was a unique one in that it gave the body the chance to present its scorecard and projections for the summer Games.

Speaking at the colourful event, the Sports Minister, who was  represented by a senior Director in the NSC, Dr. Elias Gora, a one-time scribe of the NOC, said he was impressed with the giant strides that have been  made by the latter as it seeks to put Nigeria in the vanguard of the Olympic fraternity.

Abdullahi said that at a time that Nigeria was preparing her athletes for London 2012,  the NOC must brace up to the challenges of managing the Nigerian team for optimum output  at the  summer Games.

While expressing confidence in the ability of the leadership of the NOC to  manage Team Nigeria in London, the Sports Minister tasked the body to critically look into the area of coaching in the country given the fact that most of the coaches were not competent enough to impact knowledge and skills into their athletes.

Abdullahi  said “very shortly, the NSC will be handing over Nigerian athletes who will be attending the London Games to the NOC. I am sure that the NOC  is equal to the task but I want to urge them not to rest on their laurels because of the many challenges that are cropping up”.

Speaking earlier, the President of the NOC, Engr Sani Ndanusa, in his welcome address, highlighted the many achievements of the body, while promising to do better in the future.

Ndanusa, while thanking the government t and the private sector for their involvement in the drive to repackage the NOC, said that more work needed to be done to take the Olympic body to the Olympian height it desires to reach

Also speaking, Chairman of the Planning Committee of the Nigeria Court of Arbitration for Sports, Barrister Adokie Amiesimaka, who presented the report of the Committee, said that the draft bill of the National Sports Commission that is presently in the House of Representatives must be amended  to recognize the creation of the Nigerian version of the Court of Arbitration for Sports.

The former Attorney General of Rivers State, said that the Nigeria Football Federation and other Sports Federations must also amend their statutes before the take-off of the Sports Court in the country.

He said that his committee recommended that the Court  be called the Council of Alternative Disputes for Sports, comprising of  an eight-member Board of Trustees and Board of Governors, comprising 20 members. Guests were treated to tantalizing cultural music by beautiful amazons who held the audience spell-bound with their waist-twisting music.