... Says the NSC plans to set up Independent Compliance Desk to boost integrity in Nigerian Sports.

The Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Mallam Shehu Dikko, has reemphasised the importance of having men and women of high integrity in the ecosystem of Nigerian Sports.

The Chairman stated this when he attended the Integrity Symposium of the Integrity Group, with the theme, "The Importance of Integrity in Sports".

The Chairman revealed that an Independent Compliance Desk is being put together in the Commission to further expand the scope of the Country's Integrity Compliance.

The Chairman said the Compliance Desk will also help our various Sports during the Federation Elections.

"I personally believe in the agenda of Integrity being pushed in this gathering and I am where I am today because by God's grace, I have been through different levels of integrity checks".

"I believe so much in that word integrity in our Sports and some of us have come this far because we practice that word".

"We have to be deliberate about the issue of Integrity in our Sports and those coming into our various Federations must understand this and not see what we are doing as a witch-hunt".

"It caused FIFA a lot of Dollars to perform integrity checks and we must have such a mechanism in our Sports here in Nigeria".

"This is why this symposium you guys are having here is in line with our vision in the NSC to refocus Nigeria Sports so that the Private sector can have confidence in the system in order to bring in their money," he said.

The Chairman however charged the Sporting Media to also be more responsive with their reportage of the Country's Sports, because unnecessary negative reportage has a way of demarketing the system and portraying the Sports in bad light.

The NSC Chairman however assured the Organisers of the Commission's support to expand the symposium, where the Presidents of the various Sporting Federations and more stakeholders will be part of it.

The highlight of the event was the Presentation of an Integrity plaque to the NSC Chairman by the Organisers, for all his outstanding achievements in Nigerian Sports, having passed different levels of Integrity tests both locally and internationally by both CAF and FIFA.