President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Engineer Habu Gumel, highlighted the significance of good governance, accountability, and continuous learning in progressing Nigerian sports federations. He made these remarks on the sidelines of the NOC/Olympic Solidarity Seminar on Good Governance for Presidents of Sports Federations in Nigeria, held in Abuja. The seminar, supported by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through its Olympic Solidarity programme, aimed to equip sports administrators with essential knowledge and skills.
The two-day seminar, which concluded on September 29, 2026, provided a platform for sports administrators to acquire additional knowledge and strengthen the management of their respective federations. Gumel described the seminar as an important platform for sports administrators to enhance their skills and governance practices. He acknowledged the efforts of various national sports federations but emphasized that continuous capacity building was necessary to improve their administration and overall performance.
Gumel explained that the seminar offered an opportunity for Nigerian sports administrators to interact with experts and share experiences on governance and sports administration. The knowledge acquired at the seminar would be taken back to the federations and discussed at board level to ensure practical improvements. This, he believed, would enable Nigerian athletes to perform better when representing the country internationally.
The NOC president emphasized that good governance had a lot to do with accountability and making progress for national federations. He stressed that additional knowledge was crucial for moving national federations forward. Gumel also highlighted that the ultimate objective was to create an environment that would enable Nigerian athletes to perform better internationally.
According to Gumel, the governance seminar was part of the NOC’s broader programme of capacity-building initiatives during the current Olympic cycle. He dismissed suggestions that the seminar was organised in response to a particular problem within Nigeria’s sports administration, stating it was part of a programme developed in collaboration with Olympic Solidarity.
Gumel disclosed that the NOC had lined up several other seminars and capacity-building programmes, stressing that the governance seminar was only one of a number of initiatives planned to strengthen sports administration in Nigeria. The NOC had had various programmes and seminars over the last three years, mainly on women, the Women Commission, medicine, and other areas.
The NOC president concluded that the seminar was a significant step towards enhancing sports administration in Nigeria. He expressed confidence that the knowledge and skills acquired by sports administrators would translate into practical improvements in the management of national federations and ultimately benefit Nigerian athletes.
Key points
- Good governance and accountability are crucial for advancing Nigerian sports federations.
- The NOC is committed to capacity-building initiatives to strengthen sports administration in Nigeria.
- The seminar aimed to equip sports administrators with essential knowledge and skills to improve governance practices.
