Sanwo-Olu Inaugurates Board Of Lagos Sports Trust Fund

AFOLABI SAHEED OLAWALE

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday inaugurated the Board of Lagos State Sports Trust Fund and charged them to deploy resources for the growth and development of grassroots sports, school sports and other sporting activities in the various divisions of the State.

The Board of the Lagos State Sports Trust Fund is chaired by the former Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development and the current President of the International Table Tennis Federation, Mr. Enitan Oshodi, with Mr. Olaposi Agunbiade as Executive Secretary/CEO.

Other members of the Board are Mr. Olabode Agoro, Mr. Adeniyi Adedokun Adekoya, Mr. Gbolahan Onibuje, Mr. Jubril Gawat, Mrs. Kikelomo Bolarinwa, Mrs. Olayemi Sarumi, Mr. Lekan Fatodu, Mr. Moshood Ajide, Engr. Ibrahim Adigun, Chairman of the Chairmen of LGs/LCDAs and Chairman of the Lagos State Sports Commission.

Speaking during the inauguration held at Lagos House, Marina, Governor Sanwo-Olu implored members of the Lagos State Sports Trust Fund to use their contact, skill, professional background and reach for setting up a robust institution in sports for Lagos State.

He said: “The mandate is very straightforward. It is for all of you to use your contact, skill, professional background and reach to help see how we can support funding in sports and help in setting up robust institutions in sports for Lagos State for today and for future generations.

“I will implore that you also look for ways to deploy resources in grassroots sports, school sports, and sporting activities that would encourage growth from our various divisions.

“There are several facilities that we have around that the government first funded. I am sure they are at different stages of completion, if not completed. And there is a lot that also needs improvement. So I believe that you can put the funds into some of these projects.

“There are also a whole lot of people and organisations that would want to support, but they don’t want to come straight to the government. So, this is a quasi-body that can reach out to the private sector and also draw on the experience of the government.”

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Lagos State Sports Trust Fund, Mr. Enitan Oshodi, said the most important thing for his team is to create pathways for raising funds to support sports, sporting infrastructure and development.

He said: “The Lagos State Government is spending a lot of money on sports, but it is never enough in a megacity like Lagos with 20 million-plus people. We need facilities to support athletes, and we all know the talents that are bound in sports in Lagos.

“Lagos State Sports Commission is doing a good job, a very good job. But we always need help from the private sector. The greatest sporting nation in the world doesn’t get any government funding in the United States of America. It is the private sector. So our main target really is the support from the private sector. And with the capacity of the people on the board, we see the private sector supporting us.

“We know the private sector and what they want us to do. And the government is spending the money in the right way. So, I think we can make a big success very quickly in the short term. But of course, the great plan is a long-term plan for the development of sports in Lagos.”