The National Sports Commission (NSC) officially inaugurated an Integrity Unit (IU) on Tuesday, marking a critical step in its ongoing comprehensive reforms aimed at reinforcing Nigeria’s zero-tolerance stance on ethical misconduct within the sports sector.
This development directly follows the recently concluded Council of Sports meeting held in Calabar in November, where key strategic decisions were adopted to revitalize the country’s sports development agenda.
According to the NSC, the establishment of the IU acts as a direct consequence of the Commission successfully obtaining approval from the National Council of Sports to “criminalise and institutionalise sanctions against age falsification in Nigerian sports.” The agency added that the unit is designed to introduce a more formalized and structured methodology for combating all forms of unethical practices prevalent across the sporting sector.
The Director General of the commission, Bukola Olopade, commented on the significance of the initiative, confirming that the unit will maintain close operational collaboration with all sports federations, the anti-doping unit, athletes, and the Elite and Podium board.
Olopade stressed the commission’s commitment to the reform:
“The Chairman, Shehu Dikko and myself are very committed to institutionalising this reform because it will solve most of the problems Nigeria has been battling with in Sports at the international level for many years,” Olopade said.
He further clarified that the new unit will ensure Nigeria consistently adheres to global best practices concerning both age integrity and anti-doping compliance.
“The Integrity Unit will ensure Nigeria at all times is in line with global best practices with the quality of athletes we present for international competitions in terms of both age integrity and doping conduct,” he explained.
Olopade also underscored the strategic importance of the IU, noting: “As a top sporting country with rich history in major international sporting competitions, we want to lay a very good foundation for our integrity profile to be very strong in the eyes of international Sports organisations.”
He further highlighted that the Integrity Unit constitutes a core component of the Renewed Hope Initiative for Nigeria’s Sports Economy, championed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, with the express goal of strengthening governance and accountability throughout the country’s sports sector.
The NSC concluded by stating that the unit will play a central role in safeguarding Nigeria’s sporting reputation and guaranteeing that athletes meet the highest ethical standards at both the national and international levels.
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