NOC President Gumel insists on good governance as key to advancing Nigerian sports

The President of the Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC), Engineer Habu Gumel, has highlighted the importance of good governance, accountability and continuous learning in moving Nigerian sports federations forward.

Gumel spoke on the sidelines of the ongoing NOC/Olympic Solidarity seminar on good governance for presidents of sports federations in Nigeria in Abuja on Monday.

The two-day seminar, organized with the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through its Olympic Solidarity programme, will end on Tuesday 29 September 2026.

The NOC President described the seminar as an important platform for sports administrators to gain further knowledge and strengthen the management of their respective federations.

“Good governance means a lot and has a lot to do with accountability and progress for your national federation,” Gumel said.

He acknowledged the efforts of the various national sports federations, but stressed that continuous capacity building remains necessary to improve their administration and overall performance.

“The national federations are doing well, but further knowledge is very important to be able to advance your own national federation,” he added.

Gumel explained that the seminar offers Nigerian sports administrators the opportunity to interact with experts and share experiences on sports governance and administration.

According to him, the knowledge gained during the workshop will be taken back to the federations and discussed at board level to ensure that it translates into practical improvements.

“We interact together, we work together and then we get our information. Then we go back to the national federations and discuss it at the board meeting, so we can move forward and help our athletes,” he said.

He added that the ultimate goal was to create an environment that allows Nigerian athletes to perform better when representing the country at the international level.

Gumel also explained that the governance workshop was part of the NOC’s broader program of capacity-building initiatives during the current Olympic cycle.

He rejected any suggestion that the workshop was organized in response to a particular problem within Nigeria’s sports administration, saying it was part of a program developed in collaboration with Olympic Solidarity.

“Over the last three years or so, we have had many programs and seminars, mainly on women, on the Commission for Women, on medicine and many other things,” she said.

“This has come in this particular period. It’s not that there’s anything wrong. It’s part of our program for the entire four-year period, which is a concern of the IOC.”

Gumel revealed that the NOC had organized several other seminars and capacity building programmes, stressing that the governance seminar was only one of several initiatives planned to strengthen sports administration in Nigeria.