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Nigeria: House Asks Gimba to Resign as Sports Minister
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This Day (Lagos)
14 May 2008
Posted to the web 14 May 2008
Stanley Nkwazema
Abuja
The House of Representatives Committee on Sports yesterday asked the Sports Minister/ Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Bar. Abdurahman Hassan Gimba to resign immediately due to what it described as Nigeria's lack of preparedness to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, with barely three months to kick off of the global sports fiesta.
Gimba was told that there was no way the country could achieve the eight gold medal target set by the Presidency when the NSC is not sure of the camping sites and the N1.7 billion meant for the games yet to be released by the Finance Ministry.
The lawmakers who were livid with anger over the poor preparation for the Olympiad specifically told the minister that he should go back and tell the President that the eight gold medals being expected is not realisable.
Honourable Igo Aguma and Dino Melaye who were more outspoken on the issue told Gimba to go back and prioritise the sports sector as it is impossible against the background of ill preparedness.
"We can't allow tax payers money to be wasted or misappropriated or stolen. We can't go to the Olympics with N1.7 billion and come back with 2 bronze or aluminium"
This is coming just as THISDAY confirmed yesterday that four months after the Nations Cup in Ghana; the NSC was yet to receive the N500 million meant for Nigeria's participation at the continental football event.
The money we gathered is being delayed by the Finance Ministry who said it was not appropriated before the team left. But the NSC THISDAY also learnt, borrowed the money from one of the new generation banks to attend the African football fiesta that ended on a fiasco for the Super Eagles.
Gimbals had stirred up the anger of the lawmakers when he said that Nigeria was yet to pay for the camp sites of the athletes.
The Minister said "we have selected and confirmed 11 sports which include table tennis, badminton, swimming, athletics, boxing, judo, wrestling, taekwondo, special sports and football (male and female).
But we have not made the payments for the sites. We were told yesterday that the N1. 7 billion request would be released by the Finance Ministry today (Tuesday).
That is the problem.
The only sports that is in tandem with international level is Taekwondo where the son of Senator Uche Chukwumerije and his colleague have been training on their own and participating in trials without any kobo from the federal government government.
Nobody can say he is 100 percent prepared," observed the NSC chairman.
The House however told him that the NSC was an illegal entity because there is no legal backing to the establishment of the body by the government.
"There is no organogram. The Ministry or whatever, is illegal. We can't wait for you .We have even committed the bill to Public Hearing "the committee members told the minister in reply to his ground that the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice Mr Michael Andoakaa has sent him a clean Bill of the NSC Bill.
But Gimba whom we gathered has sent a paper to the Presidency on how he wants to reorganise the Ministry agreed to the lawmakers saying "we are not embarrassed by your questions and concern from this side. Some of the observations are correct. If I don't believe the Finance Minister who do I believe? Those are the issues." he said.
Gimba who failed to give the financial breakdown of the requirements and items to be paid for however disclosed that the Nigerian athletes to the games would receive $100 Dollars daily allowance which is in tandem with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) laid down rule that athletes should not be paid less than $20 and not more than $100.
He also said that arrangements for the procurement of equipment for the contingent in line with IOC specifications have been finalised.
Gimba gave the camping sites of the various sports as follows: Table tennis- (France and South Africa), Badminton-(Germany), Swimming-(Germany), Athletics-(Greece), Boxing -(Cuba), Judo and Wrestling (Canada), Taekwondo (USA, UK and Taiwan), Special Sports (Germany) and football (Malaysia) and female (South Korea).
On the medical status of the athletes, Gimba said "the athletes are in the right frame of mind. There is need to establish the dope status of all athletes within the next one month. Fund is therefore needed for this exercise. We are going to conduct a dope test on all the athletes and in the next few weeks, we are going to even open our international dope testing laboratory here in Abuja and become the second in Africa after South Africa.
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The Minister is also worried that Nigeria has yet determined the number of athletes and government officials for the Olympiad.
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