President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Engr. Sani Ndanusa has maintained that Team Nigeria’s target to the forthcoming London 2012 Olympic Games is to win medals and feature prominently on the gold medals zone.
Speaking at the 2012 Olympics day celebration organized by the Federation of the Public Service Games (FEPSGA) in collaboration with the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and Nigeria Security and Civil defense Corps (NSCDC) in Abuja, the former minister of sports and chairman National Sports Commission said Nigeria’s elusive 16 year gold medal chase would be broken in London.
Nigeria won two Olympic gold medals at the Atlanta Games through Chioma Ajunwa in the women’s long jump and the Dream Team captained by Kanu Nwankwo in men’s football. “Our target and aspiration is that Nigeria would feature prominently among winners of gold medals on the medals table. We have not been there since Atlanta 1996, but I want to assure you that Nigeria would feature prominently on the gold medal zone in London,” he stated.
He commended the National Sports Commission (NSC), Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) whose athletes would form the integral part of Nigeria’s contingent to the London Olympics and the FEPSGA for their support. He tasked Nigerians to rally round the NOC in their quest to make Nigeria proud during the quadrennial multi-sports fiesta.
Nigeria would participate in seven events: athletics, boxing, canoeing, table tennis, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling.
Also speaking, the Commandant-General of Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps and Icon of sports in Nigeria, Dr. Ade Abolurin, said that he is confident Nigeria would succeed. “With the level of preparations, I’m very optimistic that Nigeria will win many medals,” Abolurin said.