Tinubu revives National Sports Commission after 9-year hiatus

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday revived the National Sports Commission (NSC) after nine-year hiatus while naming Shehu Dikko as the new chairman.

The commission’s revival followed the president’s decision to dissolve the Ministry of Sports Development and transfer its responsibilities to the Commission to foster a dynamic sports economy.

Dikko, a seasoned football administrator from Kaduna State, previously chaired the League Management Company, overseeing the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) for almost eight years.

He served as chairman of various committees in the NFF, including marketing and sponsorship, and was a member of the CAF Inter-Clubs Committee. He is still a member of the FIFA Football Stakeholders Committee.

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He also served as a consultant to the House of Representatives’ Sports Committee and ran for Nigeria Football Federation President in 2022, before stepping down for Ibrahim Gusau.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT NSC      

The National Sports Commission (NSC) was Nigeria’s top regulatory body for sports, responsible for overseeing the development and promotion of sports nationwide before it was dissolved in 2015 by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The then Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung had said that “by its merger with the Ministry of Youth, the commission and the office of the Director-General were equally annulled by the pronouncements of the President.”

The NSC was formally created in 1962 as a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Labour and later reconstituted as the National Sports Commission through Decree 34 of 1971 by the Federal Military Government.

This followed its dissolution in 1995 when the government of the late General Sani Abacha established the Ministry of Youth and Sports. It was later revived in 2007 by President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration to replace the Ministry of Sports and Social Development. However, it never received formal legal backing through an act of the National Assembly, which again led to its dissolution in 2015.

The NSC shaped Nigeria’s sports development through policies, event organisation, and elite athlete support, while managing key sports facilities like stadiums and arenas, ensuring high-quality infrastructure. It worked closely with national sports federations to coordinate sports programmes and represent Nigeria in international sports organisations, advocating for the country’s interests on the global stage.