Minister of Sports Solomon Dalung has boasted that his ministry performed better than others in 2017. Dalung, who said this in Abuja at an award event for the 2017 Retirees of the ministry and athletes who won medals for Nigeria last year, challenged his colleagues to list what they achieved in the past year.
“In 2017, if we are going to assess the performance of all Federal Ministries in Nigeria, the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development will come out tops,” the minister said.“I am challenging any Minister with a record superior to my Ministry’s to come out and show Nigerians his record. There is none. I reiterate my challenge; let’s showcase our achievements before the public.
“We qualified for the World Cup for the first time in the history of Nigeria, with one match ahead. The qualification came without the usual presidential task force that used to gulp not less than seven billion naira; this means that the ministry has saved Nigeria from losing seven billion through that single effort.”
The minister added that: “If we are to go by the medals that have been harvested in 2017, if we are going to attach monetary values to them, the contribution of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development through the various young athletes who have made the country proud, they would be so enormous.
“One of the successes that remained indelible in my mind is the medal won by our Hockey team in Islamia, Egypt. Hockey in Nigeria has not participated in international competition for about 14 years. But in 2017, Nigeria competed and won bronze.”
