Pecohub President Bola Tinubu has approved sweeping reforms to Nigeria’s sports funding system, promising timely releases of funds and better investment in infrastructure from 2026.
The president spoke while reviewing Nigeria’s sporting performances in 2025, a year he said brought pride to the country across many sports.
“In 2025, from individual champions in athletics and other sports, to our winning female football and basketball teams as well as the Super Eagles who despite their bronze medal at AFCON2025, captured our hearts, scores of athletes representing Nigeria made our nation proud,” Mr Tinubu wrote on his official X page.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles finished third at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The country’s female football and basketball teams also recorded strong continental outings. Nigerian athletes were visible across athletics, para-sports, combat sports, and team events.
According to the president, sports remains one of Nigeria’s strongest unifying forces.
“Sports is one of our strongest brands as a nation. It unifies us, breaks all our fault lines, inspires belief, and builds a sense of community that cuts across age, language, ethnicity, religion, and social status,” he said.
Mr Tinubu disclosed that Nigerian athletes won a total of 373 medals across all sports in 2025. He described the figure as unprecedented.
“Over the past year, Nigerian athletes in various disciplines carried our flag with courage and pride across Africa and the world with Nigeria cumulatively winning an unprecedented 373 medals across all sports in 2025,” he said.
He said the results showed what Nigeria can achieve when athletes are properly supported.
“From grassroots competitions to continental and global stages, the evidence is clear that when talent is supported with structure and preparation, Nigeria delivers.”
The president praised the National Sports Commission (NSC) for steering reforms in the sector, despite existing challenges.
“I commend the National Sports Commission for the progress and successes inspite of the challenges. I salute the leadership of the NSC under the chairmanship of Malam Shehu Dikko for driving the reform agenda towards the resetting, refocusing, and relaunching of the sports sector in alignment with the renewed hope agenda and shared prosperity vision of my administration,” he said.
The NSC was reintroduced to centralise sports administration and reduce overlap between government agencies.
Mr Tinubu admitted that sports development has suffered for years due to poor funding structures.
“Yet we must be honest. For too long, sports funding was slowed by bureaucracy, fragmented across institutions, and when funds are released, they come too late to support proper preparation and even participation,” he said.
He also pointed to poor infrastructure.
“Likewise, no meaningful investment is made towards sports infrastructure development and maintenance that meets international benchmarks. That cycle undermined performance and placed our athletes at a disadvantage. This must change.”
