8 November 2009
IN a detailed and well structured press release, Nigeria Olympic Committee,(NOC) President, Abu Gumel (OON), has come out to say why he wants to continue in office as President.
"I believe that the first criteria is that of achievement. We have achieved and should be allowed to continue to achieve but most importantly, as an elected member of the International Olympic Committee, ( IOC ), it is only logical that there is no disconnect. We should be allowed to build on the international success that we have achieved for this great country of ours."
The Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE) was particularly grateful to God for the opportunity given to Nigeria through him to return to the most sought after position in world sports, member of the Olympic family. After General Adefope, there was a big vacuum, we were not part of important Olympic decisions and when our name was put forward among some two thousand applications, it is worth celebrating that we made it to the last six, and got elected into the only two positions vacant in Africa.
These are the gains we should not allow to slip. It has taken us years to build and achieve this position and we should not allow it to slip by creating a disconnection back home between the NOC and the IOC" he said
The fellow, Nigerian Institute of Management (FNIM) then went ahead to reel out the list of achievements of his administration to include the singular relocation of the secretariat of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) to Nigeria. "This was no mean feat. Getting it out of Cameroun with a sitting Camerounian President to Abuja was tough but we did it and even got the IOC president Jack Rogue to come to Nigeria for the congress. That is the relationship that we wield and want to maintain"
The NOC president then invited journalists to "come with me to a tour of our massive Amuwo Odofin facility where we are constructing an Olympic sports complex that will be a pride of the continent. We have applied for land in Abuja. The moment we get a consideration we will put up a befitting office complex, but in the meantime permit me to say that the NOC secretariat at the National Stadium is a pride to the Olympic family in this country, complete with a library and a museum."
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