NTA commends NCC’s efforts in sports promotion

The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) has commended the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) interest in promoting and sponsoring sporting activities in the country. The Managing Director of an NTA subsidiary, NTA TV Enterprises, Mr Maxwell Loko, gave the commendation when he led a delegation on an official visit to the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja Wednesday. Mr Loko, who said the NTA management had been monitoring NCC’s efforts on sports promotion over the years with keen interest, lauded the Commission for singling out sports as one of the focus of its corporate social responsibility (CSR). He solicited the commission’s support on its planned Nigeria’s Delegation Sports Book of Record launch, saying “proceeds from the launch will be used to sustain the project to celebrate Nigeria’s sports men and women, to inspire them, especially young men and women making the nation very proud.” Mr Loko said: “We must commend the Commission for singling out sports as one of their social responsibility. I have had dealings with NCC and I must say NCC’s approach to issues is very commendable and I just wish a lot of government agencies will take a cue from that and we believe that this visit apart from just introducing this book to you is also to open another window for NCC in seeing how we can showcase what you are doing, it should not go unnoticed. We are a media outfit and the pre event, during the event and post event of the book launch is going to enjoy maximum media coverage and exposure, I want to assure you that whatever support NCC is going to give to this regard will never go unnoticed as you will be generously mentioned in all our media exposures as one of their key sponsors of this. “It’s going to go wide there are lots of Nigerian men and women in diaspora this publication will not be restricted to only the shores of Nigeria it will go wide. “This will be a starting point of many other relationships we are going to have to ensure we have a mutual bene¿ cial relationships.” In his response, the EVC represented by the commission’s Head Media Manager, Mr Sonny Aragba Akpore, stressed that the commission is very serious about sports promotion even though it is not its core mandate, to meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerian youths. He said: “The NCC’s core mandate is not sports or sporting but as a socially responsible organisation we decided to go into sporting activities in other to promote the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerian youths. “About three years ago when the tennis league started people saw it as a child’s play but it has been sustained for three years running without any hitch and each year it gets better and better. The 2017 league series ended only at the where tennis players carted away N17 million as prizes for their proficiency in what they did.” He also told the visitors that the commission also encourages sports among its staff, adding that a fit staff is an efficient and effective workforce. According to him, “Not just that the NCC has been very much involved in sporting activities, as we speak a large contingent from the commission is in Bauchi participating in the Federal Ministry of Communications sports festival. The Commission has in place quarterly event where all members of staff go on a road walk to keep fit and bring smile to the faces of Nigerians with regulatory excellence.” He assured the delegation that their prayer for support of the book launch would be adequately communicated to the commission’s helmsman, who he described as an intellectual who values research. He said book launch is not something new to the Commission, stressing that the NCC boss coming from the academia “will appreciate it and will give the Commission’s support to its launch.” He said: “As a matter of fact the EVC has shown very key interest in sporting activities and I am pertinent this will not be out of place for him. You have given us your prayers asking for support we will pass your prayers across to the management and I am very sure they will be very receptive.”