THE Minister of Sports Development, Sen John Owan-Enoh, on Thursday, said the Federal Government has approved more than N12 billion as the budget for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Owan-Enoh also told newsmen in Abuja that preparations for the games was on top gear.
This newspaper reports that the Paris Olympics is scheduled to hold from July 26 to Aug. 11 in France.
Similarly, the Paralympics is expected to be held from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.
According to Owan-Enoh, all hands are on deck to ensure that the approved funds are released to the athletes as soon as possible.
He said, ”We have a budget of over N12 billion which has been approved by the federal government.
”The budget is divided into two parts; N9 billion for the Olympics, while over N3 billion has been earmarked for the Paralympics.
”There are various provisions for the athletes and their welfare in the budget and before the team leaves for Paris I am going to have the opportunity of visiting them.
”Just as I did in Accra, Ghana, during the African Games, I am going to let them know from A to Z all what their entitlements are.”
He also said that Team Nigeria were still at their training camp in Germany, adding that the team’s Captain to the Olympics would be unveiled shortly before their departure.
The Minister also said that his target was to ensure that the team surpassed the achievements of the 1996 Olympic Games, which he described as the best outing of Team Nigeria to date.
This newspaper reports that the 1996 Olympics remains Nigeria’s most successful games, with six medals won in total.
Chioma Ajunwa won gold in the Long Jump, while the U-23 male football team also won their event.
The quartet of Falilat Ogunkoya, Bisi Afolabi, Fatima Yusuf and Charity Opara won silver in the 4×100 meters relay.
Ogunkoya also won a bronze medal in the women’s 400-meter race while Mary Onyali won a bronze medal in the women’s 200-meter sprint.
Also, Duncan Dokiwari earned a third-place finish in the men’s Super Heavyweight boxing event.
He said that he had tried to put forth ”a leadership that is personal and engaging on a constant basis” in order to motivate the athletes and get them to feel appreciated by the country.