From Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The National Lottery Trust Fund will friday make donation of sporting equipment to 2,000 primary schools nationwide in fulfillment of its mandate as an intervention agency established to promote the well-being of citizenry through projects.
The Executive Secretary of the Fund, Abu Gumel told reporters yesterday that the equipment in nine key sports including football, athletics (track and field, table tennis, volleyball, basketball, judo, taekwondo, handball and basketball will be parceled to the schools to enhance grassroots sports development.
According to Gumel a robust and comprehensive evaluation and monitoring system has been put in place to monitor and track the utilization of the equipment.
He put the cost of the equipment imported directly from manufacturers in China and Taiwan at N574 million. The Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will be the special guest of honour at the unveiling and the presentation of the equipment in Abuja.
Gumel, who is the President of Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), said the gesture was to promote grassroots development given that Nigeria’s current crop of athletes was ageing and a need for the grooming of talented sports men to excel in international sports was necessary.
He said that the National Lottery Fund would work with the Federal Capital Territory administration would attach coaches to the selected schools to ensure that the students are trained on the use of the facilities. Twenty schools in Abuja will benefit from the project.
“It is our conscious effort to develop school sports and these projects are funded from remittances received from lottery operators and promoters across the country, which in the past was used in supporting the 9th All Africa Games in Algiers in 2007 and the West Africa Police Games in 2009,” Gumel said.
The National Lottery Trust Fund was established pursuant to National Lottery Act of 2005 and commenced operations same year with an appointment of board of trustees members and a chairman.
