July 08, (THEWILL) – The traditional handing over of Nigeria’s Olympic contingent to the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) by the Head of State and President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is scheduled to take place on Monday, July 12 at the Presidential Villa.
This was confirmed by Sunday Dare, the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, who said: “We are keeping to the tradition of unveiling the team to the President who will in turn hand them over to the Nigerian Olympics Committee.”
The Minister remarked that a key part of the ceremony was the unveiling of the official wear and gear of the contingent by the President: “The unveiling of the official wear and equipment of the team will be done by Mr. President at the ceremony. This is a very symbolic event meant to officially send forth the team to the Games.
“This should also inspire the athletes and to reinforce the fact that the Federal Government and the entire country are behind them.”
The Games proper will commence on July 23rd and a batch of Team Nigeria departed the country on Monday headed for Tokyo as part of the country’s preparations for the commencement of the Summer Games in Japan. They will use the intervening period before the competitions kick off to get used to the climate and conditions.
In the company of the first batch were members of the canoeing team, Ayomide Bello and her coach, Ebenezer Ukwunna, Esther Toko and her coach, Regina Enofe alongside Secretary General of the Rowing and Canoeing Federation, Olubunmi Oluode, according to the information made available by Simon Ebhojiaye, the Director of the Federation of Elites Athletes of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.
The group left for Tokyo through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja by Ethiopian Airline. Included in the batch was Nigeria’s Olympic amazon Mary Onyali. The former African record holder in the sprint and two-time Olympic medalist is currently a Special Adviser to the Minister of Youth and Sports Development.
The advance team of the Ministry has also jetted out to Japan. They flew out to Tokyo from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos on Monday as well with the sole responsibility of ensuring that everything is in place for the rest of Team Nigeria before the full contingent arrives.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
