The Federal Government has promised to assist the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) towards a successful outing at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
The Supervising Minister of Sports, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, made the pledge on Tuesday in Abuja during the investiture of President Goodluck Jonathan as the grand patron of the NOC.
“We will give all necessary assistance to support the NOC to do the nation proud,’’ the Minister said.
He said that the country qualified for five sports, namely athletics, canoeing, wrestling, table tennis and taekwondo and could still qualify for badminton, boxing and para-athletics.
The NOC President, Sani Ndanusa, said the committee was determined to use the London Olympics to showcase Nigeria’s sporting prowess to the outside world.
According to him, the NOC has been working with the National Sports Commission (NSC) to position the country as a formidable player in world sports.
“Today is the happiest day for the Olympic family and we thank the president for his sustained interest in sports development. This event is a unique opportunity to decorate the President as the grand patron of the NOC.
“There was need to promote sports marketing and the development of Nigeria economy through the use of Olympics as a platform to add value to the system.”
He, however, assured Nigerians that the committee would do its best to have a memorable outing for the country.
NAN reports that the investiture marked the beginning of a massive marketing drive by the NOC towards Team Nigeria’s outing at the Olympics.
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