Newly- appointed Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye, has assured Nigerians that they are ready to unearth the factors responsible for Team Nigeria’s dismal performance at the London 2012 Olympics.
Elegbeleye gave the assurance when he officially resumed duty at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
The director added that the investigation would help prepare the country’s athletes for future competitions.
The director, in accordance with the general opinion, opined that the performance at the last Olympic was disappointing, but that such happenings must be put behind for sports to move forward.
He added that, henceforth, greater attention would be given to grassroots sports development as it was the bases for athletes’ development in the country.
“The agenda should be to transform Nigerian sports and it will not be a one man show; it’s a team work.
“One thing that is more important is that at international competitions, Nigerians should be celebrated. So, I think what we need now is to have more podium appearances for our athletes in international competitions.
“We must put the Olympics behind us to forge ahead for better result and I think it’s a matter of everybody working and cooperating together,” Elegbeleye noted.
Elegbeleye, a former deputy chairman of the House Committee on Sports, was appointed on May 15, in place of retired Dr Patrick Ekeji as the NSC Director General, after eight years in service. He was a former council chairman in Ondo State and later became the chairman of Ondo State Waste and Environmental Board.
Elegbeleye had also served as member of various sports committees, one of which is the reform committee on football administration.
President Goodluck Jonathan only last week appointed the former House of Representatives member as a replacement for the former DG, Chief Patrick Ekeji who retired last April 9.
