NAN-S-6
Grassroots
By Victor Okoye
Abuja, Dec. 11, 2017 (NAN) Adesola Olusade, Chairman of the African Union Sports Council, Region 2 (AUSC Reg. 2), on Monday assured that the council was committed to grassroots sports development in the region.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Olusade made the remarks at the Second Steering Committee Meeting of the AUSC Reg. 2 at the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja.
The Steering Committee Meeting will preceed the AUSC Council of Ministers session which is scheduled to hold from Wednesday to Thursday.
No fewer than 15 Sports Ministers from the 15 ECOWAS countries are expected to arrive on Tuesday ahead of the meeting, while President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to declare it open.
NAN reports that the five regions of AUSC are Region One (North Africa), Region Two (West Africa), Region Three (East Africa), Region Four (Central Africa) and Region Five (Southern Africa).
Region Two is made up of three principal language groups, namely: the Anglophone, Francophone and Lousaphone, with its secretariat in Abuja, Nigeria.
Olusade who is the Chairman of the Second Session Region 2 said the objective of the committee was to receive from experts of member-nations further inputs to the legal instruments.
He said the experts were expected to harmonise them and come up with refined draft copies.
Olusade said this would then be for consideration and approval by the first session of the Council of Region 2 Sports Ministers’ meeting.
This, he said, was to be done so as to pave the way for their immediate implementation.
“We have before us an enormous responsibility to lay a solid foundation for the accelerated growth and development of sports at the grassroots in the region.
“We cannot afford to continue to lag behind. We want to leap-frog in order to support the respective efforts of government of our respective countries.
“This is to promote sports as a veritable tool for job creation, poverty eradication, promotion of peace and the well-being of the citizenry,” he said.
Olusade, who is the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, therefore charged committee members not to relent in their efforts to ensure that the exercise was successful.
“I therefore appeal to us all to accord this assignment the attention it deserves and to actively participate and contribute to the success of this exercise.
“That way, we can come up with acceptable drafts worthy of approval by the Council at the historic meeting of the Council of Ministers,” he said.
NAN reports that the documents to be reviewed include the Strategic Sports Development Plan (2017- 2024), the Statutes of the AUSC Region 2, Headquarters agreement and Member-Nations annual subscription fees.(NAN)
VO/OLAL
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)