Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara has appointed Mr Bola Mogaji as the Chairman of the newly created Kwara State Sports Commission.
In a statement signed by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Malam Rafiu Ajakaye, on Tuesday in Ilorin, the governor said the appointment of Mogaji would help to drive growth and innovation in the subsector.
According to the statement, Mogaji, who has decades of cognate experience as a professional athlete and stakeholder, is a household name in the country’s sports industry.
Educated at the University of Ibadan, Mogaji has served in different capacities as a sports administrator at different levels.
The governor has also appointed Dr Steve Olarinoye, another renowned sports administrator from Ifelodun Local Government Area, as the Director General of the commission.
A graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and an alumnus of the International Sports Academy, Germany, Olarinoye, has decades of cognate experience as an A-list sports administrator and athlete.
These include his positions as Executive Secretary of the Professional League, Nigeria Football Association (1993-1995); Head, International Competition Department (NFA) (1995-1996); Secretary General, Nigeria Weightlifting Federation between 2005 and 2009; Chairman, Kwara State Weightlifting Association from 2018 to date.
He was also an administrative secretary to the gold-winning Nigeria Olympic Football Team in Atlanta 1996.
Other members of the commission are sports authorities and enthusiasts like Dele Abubakar, Abdullahi Lade, Lanre Elijah, Monisola Makanjuola, Roseline Raphael, Balikis Abdulkadir and Bakare Adebayo.
Omolade Ojukaiye, a senior civil servant, would serve as the secretary of the commission. (NAN)