Former Minister of Sports, Sani Ndanusa, has urged the incoming Minister of Sports to ensure adequate provision of standard sporting facilities for grassroots sports development.

Ndanusa, who gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, said that the minister could achieve that by providing the facilities in all the 774 local government areas in the country.

According to him, the sector requires a hard-working minister, who will ensure that sporting facilities are available for the training of potential talents at the grassroots.

“He must think grassroots and also high-performance; these are two separate things that will require a very big book to write on.

“We have to go back to the grassroots. And how do we go back to grassroots? We must provide facilities at the grassroots level. You have seen the Fulani Boys in tennis.

“They have become great because they have access to tennis courts because they are living close to tennis courts.

“We must have community sports centres in all the 774 local government areas in our country (but) we are disenfranchising some of our youths.

“A tall school boy will come out, he has never seen a basketball court; all he has seen in his local government area is football pitch which is not even the standard.

“We must get standard facilities at those levels.”

Ndanusa, who is the President of Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF), commended the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) for the sponsorship of the country’s tennis league.

He urged other government agencies and sports-loving individuals to contribute to the development of youths in sports.

Ndanusa, also a former President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), described sports as a unifying factor in need of adequate attention.

NAN reports that some ministerial nominees sent to the Senate by President Muhammadu Buhari, for screening have been confirmed, but are yet to be assigned their portfolios. (NAN)

•Photo shows Former Minister of Sports, Sani Ndanusa.

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