ABUJA (Min of Youths and Sports Dev Report) – The Federal Republic of Nigeria and the African Union Sports Council Region 2, have signed the Headquarters agreement that seals the bond between the two. The African Union of Sports Council (AUSC) Region 2 comprises of the 15 West African countries, including the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Hon. Sunday Dare, made this known during the signing ceremony in Abuja, on 26th November, 2019.
The Minister who was represented at the occasion by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Olusade Adesola, commended the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Justice, for tidying the technical nitty gritty of the agreement.
He recalled similar values in the recent citing and commissioning of the Association of National Olympic Committee Association (ANOCA) headquarter building in Abuja, making Nigeria the Olympic Capital of Africa.
Sunday Dare extolled the reforms that transformed the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to the African Union (AU), which also berthed in its wake, a decentralisation of sports management in Africa, which culminated into the emergence of African Union of Sports Council (AUSC) covering 5 Regions of Africa, with Region 2, West Africa, Headquartered in Abuja.
He appreciated the African Union for endorsing the hosting right of the AUSC Region 2 Headquarters in Abuja. The Minister averred that the domestication of Foreign Nationals in Nigeria to serve in the Secretariat Headquarters, increased influx of Sports Men and Officials into Nigeria for training and competitions and importantly, enhanced commerce and socio- economic activities in Nigeria.
The Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olusade Adesola, expressed the goodwill messages of the Minister in appreciating the effort and support of the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Geoffrey Onyema to the actualisation of epoch signing of agreement.
In his remarks, the Foreign Affairs Minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Amb. Mustapha Suleiman Lawal, enthused that as a lover of sports, it is indeed his warm pleasure to sign the agreement that would establish the commitment of the Federal Government in providing a befitting headquarter for AUSC Region 2 West Africa, saying that hosting status will come with privileges entrenched with responsibilities.
Ngozi Obiechina
For: Director, Press
