Duro Ikhazuagbe
8 November 2009
Lagos — President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, (NOC) President Habu Gumel (OON) says he is seeking re-election for the office to enable him consolidate on the successes recorded by his administration at the Olympic movement.
Speaking at an interactive session in Lagos on his way back from Kuwait at the weekend, Engr Gumel who just got elected as International Olympic Committee (IOC) member insisted that there should be no disconnect now that Nigeria has again have it's representative at the summit of the Olympic movement.
"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," observed the former director of facilities at the National Sports Commission.
The fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers was particularly grateful to God for the opportunity given to Nigeria 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 2000 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," observed the NOC president. He listed some of the achievements of his administration to include the relocation of the secretariat of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa( ANOCA) to Abuja, Nigeria. " This was no mean feat. Getting it out of Cameroon with a sitting Cameroonian President to Abuja was tough but we did it and even got the IOC president Jacque Rogge to come to Nigeria for the congress. That is the relationship that we wield and want to maintain."
Engr Gumel also points at the massive facility at Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos, where NOC is 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 present NOC secretariat at the National Stadium is a pride to the Olympic family in this country. Go there and see how we have turn around the building, complete with a library and a museum.
" In the next few days, we will go public with the list of scholarships we have offered to sports men and women in all the disciplines of Olympic sports. You need to digest this document to appreciate the magnitude of our achievements."
Gumel thanked those who have toiled over the years to bring the Olympic family to this position of pride. " My election into the IOC is a manifestation, an endorsement of the good work we have been doing at the NOC, and we cannot fail to build on these gains. You can imagine the shock at the international level if by any chance, a new face is brought in to start afresh, punctuating and rubbishing years of hard work and progress," Gumel emphasised with caution.
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