By VICTOR OKOYE

The Minister of Sports Development, Sen. John Owan-Enoh, on Thursday said the Federal Government had approved more than N12 billion as the budget for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Owan-Enoh also told newsmen in Abuja that preparations for the games were in top gear.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Paris Olympics, which is its 33rd edition, is scheduled to hold from July 26 to Aug. 11 in France.

Similarly, the Paralympics is expected to hold from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.

According to Owan-Enoh, all hands are on deck to ensure that the approved funds are released to the athletes as soon as possible.

He said, “We have a budget of over N12 billion which has been approved by the federal government.

“The budget is divided into two parts; N9 billion for the Olympics, while over N 3 billion has been earmarked for the Paralympics.

“There are various provisions for the athletes and their welfare in the budget and before the team leaves for Paris I am going to have the opportunity of visiting them.

“Just as I did in Accra, Ghana, during the African Games, I am going to let them know from A to Z all what their entitlements are.”

He also said that the Team Nigeria were still at their training camp in Germany, adding that the team’s Captain to the Olympics would be unveiled shortly before their departure.

The Minister also said that his target was to ensure that the team surpassed the achievements of the 1996 Olympic Games, which he described as the best outing of Team Nigeria till date.

NAN reports that the 1996 Olympics remains Nigeria’s most successful games, with six medals won in total.

Chioma Ajunwa won gold in the Long Jump, while the U-23 male football team also won their event.

The quartet of Falilat Ogunkoya, Bisi Afolabi, Fatima Yusuf and Charity Opara won silver in the 4×100 meters relay.

Ogunkoya also won a bronze medal in the women’s 400-meter race, Mary Onyali also won a bronze medal in the women’s 200-meter sprint.

Also, Duncan Dokiwari earned a third-place finish in the men’s Super Heavyweight boxing event.

He said that he had tried to put forth “a leadership that is personal and engaging on a constant basis” in order to motivate the athletes and get them to feel appreciated by the country.

“As the Sports minister, my aspiration is to surpass records that were earlier set.

“I am not talking about the Olympics of the last four years, but we are taking it from the Olympics of 1996, which remains our best ever performance.

“We are working really hard, both in terms of the arrangements and preparations by my performance team that have been in Germany ever since the camp opened.

“They have been working with the athletes and I am getting positive reports about what the team is able and ready to achieve,” he said.

He also expressed his appreciation of President Bola Tinubu as well as other stakeholders for their commitment and support for the team.

He said that the House of Representatives yesterday (Wednesday), announced the sum of N100 million as their support for Team Nigeria.

He also thanked the media for their support to the team and in ensuring that all the ministry’s activities and achievements in the last one year were highlighted and given adequate coverage.

“We went for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote D’Ivoire where the Super Eagles gave a good account of themselves, finishing as runners up in the tournament.

“We also went to the 13th African Games where Nigeria performed brilliantly, finishing second out of 53 participating countries in Ghana, with 47 gold, 34 silver and 40 bronze medals.

“There have also been in-between competitions involving our different sporting federations where our athletes gave a good account of themselves.

“We are immensely grateful to the media for your continuous coverage and reportage of all these events, in spite of all the challenges,” he said. (NAN)

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