By Dwelleth Morountodun
The Ministry of Sports and Youth Development has acknowledged the relisting of Paralympic Sports in forthcoming National Sports Development.
The development is coming sequel to the virtual meeting of the National Council on Sports held on Wednesday, last weekend where the decision was taken to remove Para Sports from the 21st NSF.
After due consultation with stakeholders, the ministry stated that it is relisting the following para sports to the National Sports Festival in Delta State: Para Athletics, Para Table Tennis, Para Powerlifting and Deaf Sports of (Athletics and Table Tennis).
However, the Ministry stated that their events will be limited to where Nigeria has competitive advantages.
According to the ministry, the decision was taken in the overall interest of sports development in Nigeria, as the NSF has become the flagship games for the discovery, grooming and empowerment of our youth athletes.
The statement said: “The Ministry condemns the behaviour of some misguided athletes who engaged in unwarranted acts of protests and blackmail without recourse to due process.
“These actions which led to the disturbance of public peace and the good image of sportsmen and women, especially with the recent public acceptance of the superlative performance of Team Nigeria at the 2022 Commonwealth Games is a breach of our Sports Ethical Code, the ministry stated.
“The Ministry wishes to state further that it will apply the rules in dealing with such acts in due course. Athletes must learn to follow the due process laid down for resolving issues.
“The facts about this administration’s commitment to the upliftment of the Para Athletes and Parasports are in the public domain, well documented.
“Para Athletes are therefore, advised to henceforth exhaust the channels of communication and processes laid down for airing grievances, rather than resort to public disturbance.”
Signed
Mohammed Manga
Director, Press & Public Relations
