Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, has declared that the preparations for the 2027 African Games which will be held in Egypt will begin immediately, as the contingent to the just concluded 13th edition of the Games in Ghana arrived on Sunday.
Team Nigeria arrived in the country’s capital Abuja and Lagos in batches on Sunday via chartered flights provided by the Ministry of Sports Development.
In Ghana, Team Nigeria had an impressive outing and finished second in the overall medals table with a total number of 121 medals comprising 47 gold, 34 silver and 40 bronze medals.
Although the foreign-based athletes who were part of Nigeria’s success at the Games have also returned directly to their bases, Enoh believes a head start ahead of the 2027 Games will give the country an edge in their quest to claim top spot for the first time since hosting the Games in 2003.
“On behalf of His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, I welcome you back to our dear country. I congratulate you for your outstanding performance in the just concluded 13th African Games that was held in Ghana”, the minister said in a statement on Sunday.
“While you bask in the euphoria of your exploits and worthy sense of achievement, let me quickly remind you that preparations for the 14th African Games built to hold in Egypt start now. As your Sports development minister, dubbed Nigeria’s Games Master General, I sure will be with you all the way.
“Without prejudice to the comprehensive audit and thorough evaluation of our overall performance at the games which will soon be carried out under my guidance and leadership, the time has come for our country to spend as much, if not more, as it does for competitions in development and preparation, if we ever hope to get atop the medals table which we have only achieved once in 2003 when the country hosted the Games”.
He added that the ministry will prioritise the welfare of the athletes.
“For the meantime, the challenge of the Ministry is to work out a sustainable package of incentives that will continue to put the welfare condition of our sportsmen and women at the forefront. Thank you once more our gallant heroes and heroines as I welcome you back”, Enoh said.
Weightlifting produced the highest number of medals for Nigeria with 32, 10 more than athletics which produced 22 medals.
