THE Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Dr. Patrick Ekeji, has commended SuperSport and MultiChoice Nigeria for institutionalising the certificate programme in management development for sports administrators in the country.Speaking during the second graduation ceremony of 24 sports administrators from the programme in Abuja on Monday, Ekeji said the Certificate Programme in Management Development (CPMD), which is organised by the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), in partnership with the Ministry of Sports, is very relevant to the needs of present and future sports administrators in the country.Ekeji promised that his ministry would continue to partner SuperSport and other stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria retained its pride of place in sports achievements through structured manpower development programmes.Also speaking at the ceremony, the Director-General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Yomi Bolarinwa, commended the MultiChoice group for investing in sports development, acknowledging that human capital development and capacity building are central to sustained growth and development in any industry.In his remarks, UNN Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ebele Aja, revealed that out of the 28 participants who registered for the programme, 24 completed the course. He said this underlines the importance and seriousness attached to the programme by the organisers, adding that the successful participants were found worthy in learning and character to get the school's seal of approval.Speaking to journalists at the event, Managing Director of MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe, said the graduates of the programme have merited their certificates. He noted: 'We know how challenging the programme has been but we have no doubt in our minds that the learning outcomes will begin to translate into resounding success stories very soon.'Because we believe in sustenance, I hereby promise you on behalf of our organisations that we will continue with the programme by hosting another edition next year. We will also continue to find ways to develop sports in the country through strategic partnerships now and in the future.'General Manager of SuperSport Nigeria, Felix Awogu, added that the programme was sponsored by his company to demonstrate its commitment to Nigeria, noting that SuperSport is not all about the acquisition of foreign content but also about the development of local content.'We have launched our high definition studio to complement our standard definition studio and we have also added two additional high definition outside broadcasting vans to increase the coverage of local sports in Nigeria,' he said.
Click here to read full news..
