Zaria (Kaduna State) – A member of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Yakubu Bityong-Nkom (PDP-Kaura), on Tuesday in Zaria advised the Federal and State Governments on the need to utilise sports professionals.
Bityong-Nkom, who is the Chairman of the House’s Committee on Sports, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that sports professionals should occupy the posts of Sports Ministers and Commissioners.
The lawmaker contended that this was imperative in view of the fact that people who have had nothing to do with sports in their career were appointed sports ministers and commissioners.
“In previous years, Nigerians had seen those participating in sports as a group of people who wasted their time, or people with immoral behaviour.
“I want to believe that’s why governments at both state and federal levels appoint people from outside the profession to lead sports ministries at the expense of professionals.
“We have never seen a situation where government appointed somebody who is not a lawyer to hold a political office in the Ministry of Justice or somebody who is not an engineer into the Ministry of Works.
“But in sports, governments appoint lawyers, engineers and other people who have nothing to do with sports to head the sports ministries,’’ the House Deputy Minority Leader said.
He then appealed to governments to reverse the trend by appointing sports professionals to head sports ministries at both federal and state levels.(NAN)
