Ogun Set to Have a Sport Trust Fund, Gov. Abiodun

The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has hinted that plans are underway to have a sports trust fund, with the view to have the partnership of the private sector in developing sports in the State.

Prince Dapo Abiodun who made this known at the first African edition of the 50 kilometres Valuejet IAU African Championship Race, tagged Remo 2019, said that funds from the trust fund will only be spent on the authority of members of the fund and not government.

"Because government alone cannot fund sports, we are going to launch a sports trust fund, which will be a fund that government will contribute to, but because this government is all about Public-Private Partnership, our vision is that which is to provide a focused and qualitative governance whilst creating an enabling environment for the partnership. To underscore that, we are going to launch a trust fund. The management of that fund will be strictly private sector. Spending a Naira of that fund will be determined by those people who comprise the trust fund, not government. That way, we can continue to promote events like this," he said.

The Governor also announced that the Ogun State Ministry of Youth and Sports will be divided into two to accommodate the creation of the Ogun State Sports Commission, adding that the creation of the sports commission would change the Ministry of Youth and Sports into the Ogun State Ministry of Youth.

"I also decided that I was going to take away the Ministry of Youths and Sports. I am going to divide it, leaving the Ministry as the Ministry of Youths and now establish the Ogun State Sports Commission to underscore the importance of sports, because we found out that our sports has not been able to achieve its potential because of this amalgamation. So we will now have the Ogun State Sports Commission and I am proud to say that we have no other but the Chairman of Value Jet, Mr. Kunle Soname as the Chairman of the Ogun State Commission and I am proud to say that we have no other but the Chairman of Value Jet, Mr. Kunle Soname as the Chairman of the Ogun State Sports Commission."

Abiodun added that when his administration came on board, it embarked on an evaluation of sport facilities across the State, noting that the evaluation had helped his administration to commence the rehabilitation of the Otunba Dipo Dina International Stadium, Ijebu-Ode.

"When this administration took over on the 29th of May, we placed a lot of premium on sports. One of the first things we did was to evaluate the state of our sport facilities. We found out that the stadium in Ijebu-Ode had since been abandoned, and I am proud to say that within our first one hundred days, we rehabilitated that stadium in Ijebu-Ode. This underscores our commitment to youth empowerment and sports," he said.

The Governor also used the occasion to commend the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) Coordinator in the State, Mrs. Melinda Faniyi for taking good care of corps members posted to the State, noting that the State Government will continue to work towards the welfare of corps members in the state.

Abiodun further said that the ultra race had put the State on the map, adding that the present Government in the State will continue to promote sport initiatives.

In an interview, former Nigerian athlete, Mrs. Falilat Ogunkoya Omotayo commended the State Government and the sponsors of the event for hosting the first edition of the African ultra race in the State, adding that the present administration had shown that it was fully committed to the development of sports.

The 50 kilometre race saw Thobile Mbopkwe from South Africa coming first, Prosper Mutwira coming second, while the event had its third-place winner, Iliya Pam from Plateau State.