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SUNDAY DARE BECOMES NIGERIA’S 35TH SPORTS MINISTER

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA

Veteran journalist and former media adviser and Chief of Staff to the former Lagos State governor and national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Sunday Akin Dare, is the new ‘Games-Master General’ of Nigeria.

He was on Wednesday sworn in as a cabinet member and Minister of Sports in Nigeria. He thus becomes the 35th person to supervise Nigerian sports since Chief Joseph Modupe Johnson (JMJ) in 1960.

Dare is also the ninth person from the South West to occupy the position of supervisory minister of sports Nigeria.

Sports Village Square recalls that there had been only one sports minister from the southwest in the past 20 years when Taoheed Adedoja of Oyo State briefly occupied the position in 2010/11.

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The new sports minister has worked in diverse aspects of the media and has decades of multimedia journalism experience spanning over 25 years.

Prior to his nomination for ministerial position, he served as the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC).

Dare’s Predecessors

  • Joseph Modupe Johnson         (1960-1964)
  • Hon. J.C. Obande                  (1965-1971)
  • Henry Adefope                        (1971-1975)
  • Olufemi Olutoye            (1975-1977)
  • Dan Isokrari                 (1977-1978)
  • Paulinus Amadike                  (1979 -1981)
  • Adebisi Ogedengbe        (1982-1983)
  • Buba Ahmed                 (1983)
  • Bennett Birabi              (1983)
  • Emeka Omeruah           (1984-1985)
  • Ahmed  Abdulahi           (1985-1986)
  •  Bayo Lawal                   (1986-1988)
  • Alabo Graham Douglas  (1989-1990)
  • Anthony Ikazoboh                  (1990-1991)
  • Yohana Kure                 1991-1992)
  • Alex Akinyele                 (1992 -1993)
  • Sylvanus Akinwunmi     (1993 -1994)
  • Shola Rhodes               (1994- 1995)
  • Jim Nwobodo                (1995-1997)
  • Emeka Omeruah           (1997 –1999)
  • Damishi Sango             (1999-2001)
  • Ishaya Mark Aku           (2001-2002)
  • Stephen Akiga               (2002-2003)
  • Musa Mohammed          (2003-2005)
  • Saidu Sambawa             (2005-2006)
  • Bala Bawa Ka’oje           (2006 -2007)
  • Abdurahaman Gimba     (2007 -2008)
  • Sani Ndanusa               (2008-2010)
  • Ibrahim Isa Bio             (2010)
  • Taoheed Adedoja           (2010 – 2011)
  • Yusuf Suleiman            (2011)  
  • Bolaji Abdulahi             (2011-2014)
  • Tamuno Danagogo         (2014 – 2015)
  • Solomon Dalung            (2015 – 2019)

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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