Buhari To Honour Athletes Who Are Yet To Be Rewarded

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, is set to honour all
athletes that won different medals for the nation in various international
sporting tournaments in 2015, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung
has said. He said the President would host the athletes at the Presidential
Villa in Abuja on Thursday, January 21.

Among those yet to be rewarded are the Golden Eaglets of
1985, who were promised houses for winning the maiden edition of the FIFA U-17
World Cup in China and the current FIFA U-17 world champions.

Others are the victorious national men’s Basketball team who
won the 2015 FIBA Africa Basketball Championship in Tunisia, Team Nigeria at
the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa, and World Scrabble Champion, Wellington
Jighere.

In November last year, President Buhari assured the 1985
batch of Golden Eaglets that his administration would fulfill the promises made
30 years ago.

The promises were made during a reception held at Dodan
Barracks with the players, in celebration of their outstanding victory.

In a statement on November 10 by a spokesman for the
President, Mr Garba Shehu, Buhari said it had been brought to his attention
that a directive which he gave to the state governments at the time had not
been complied with.

“It is a pity that those promises were never fulfilled,” he
said.