The Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has urged the military to help improve the quality of sports by tapping from the experience and knowledge of its retired athletes.
Dalung, in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja signed by the ministry’s Director of Press, Tolu Makinde, said the military has a lot to tap from those retired athletes’ competencies.
The statement quoted the Minister as saying this while receiving a 12-man delegation of officers of the Nigerian Air Force, led by Air Commodore Charles Oghowen, during a visit.
“Organisers of sports competitions in the military should use the retired icons in their games as coaches, referees, judges and umpires to improve the standard of their games,’’ it quoted Dalung as saying.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Air Force delegation visited Dalung to inform him of the 2016 Nigeria Air Force Games scheduled for Katsina.
The Games, which will feature 13 sports, is to hold from Oct. 24 to Oct. 29.
Dalung described the Nigerian Air Force and the Ministry of Youths and Sports as partners in progress on issues of sports.
He appreciated the significant role being played by the Air Force in safeguarding and protecting the country’s territorial integrity and ensuring its air space remained secured.
Dalung commended the Air Force for organising sports not only to keep its men and women in healthy shape but as instrument for promoting peace and unity and strengthening the nation.
He promised that the Ministry would help nurture sports talents discovered at the Games to the highest level to represent the country in future international competitions.
Earlier, Oghowen who is Chairman of the Nigeria Air Force Games 2016 had solicited the Minister’s support for the Games to be a successful event.(NAN)