On May 2, the House of Representatives passed the National Sports Commission (NSC) Bill, which provides for the governance structure of sports in the country.
Ever since the birth of the Fourth Republic in 1999, the ruling body of Nigeria’s sport has been riddled with a whole lot of bureaucratic incompetence. Stakeholders have long clamored for the enacting of a National Sports Commission bill which is expected to free the sports sector from the claws of the unruly, and lead the way for the next stage of development.
The House first passed the bill in 2010, but the senate did not give the required consent, hence the NSC was done away with at the inception of the current administration.
A Revival
At a plenary session presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, the House of Representatives revisited the bill and have begun passing the NSC Act.
The House looked through the reports of the Committee on Sports on the bill for the Act that would provide for the administration and management of Sports in Nigeria and assumed it as presented by the committee.
The bill will also cater for the establishment of sports facilities and institutions to grow and bolster sports development in the country, while also encouraging drug free participation in sports.
The House also looked into the Committee on Sport’s report on a bill for an Act to erect an anti-doping agency for Nigeria which would “be enshrined in the World Anti-Doping Code in Accordance with the various International Standards; and for Related Matters.”
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