PRESIDENT BUHARI DOLES OUT N17.5m TO D’TIGRESS

President Muhammadu Buhari has redeemed his promise to reward the 2017 Afrobasket winning women’s team, D’Tigress of Nigeria.

Each player got N1,000,000 (One million Naira) while the five coaching crew members got N500,000 each.

In his address, the Minister of Youth and Sports Solomon Dalung said sports in Nigeria is moving to greater heights through the unprecedented support of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari.

“In Mr President’s usual way of showing appreciation to our sports men and women who made the nation proud, he received the team at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday during the Federal Executive meeting.

“History is made today as His Excellency, Mr President has fulfilled his promise to the heroic Afrobasket team by doling out the sum of N1,000,000 to each of the players and 500,000)to each of the officials totalling N17,500,000.”

Dalung thanked the President for his administration’s outstanding contributions to the development of sports in Nigeria and for his extrinsic reward in particular.

The Minister said that the President’s kind gesture will have a multiplier effect on the country’s podium success in the forth coming Commonwealth Games, scheduled to hold in Gold Coast, Australia next year.

In his response, the Vice President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation Babs Ogunade thanked the President for redeeming his promise to reward D’Tigress for their excellence and hard work.

“Over a period of time, administrations have made promises to athletes and failed but with the change mantra, this administration promised to reward the gold winning basketball team and they have fulfilled their promise.

“Like Oliver Twist, we will always ask for more. As you are aware, we qualified for the World Cup in Spain next year and we are gearing up for that as well as the Commonwealth Games.

“We ask for the federal government’s support ahead of all these assignments although, we are also looking outward to get sponsorship so that we don’t put everything on the government. We however thank you so much and look forward to seeing that all these come to fruition”,  Ogunade said.