Osun ready for partnership on sports development, says gov Adeleke

A statement by Malam Olawale Rasheed, the spokesperson to the governor, said on Saturday in Osogbo that Adeleke made the remarks at the ongoing leadership retreat organised by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum in Kigali, Rwanda.

The statement said the governor was responding to an address by Masai Michael Ujiri, a British born Nigerian-Canadian professional basketball executive and President of the Toronto Raptors in the National Basketball Association (NBA) at the retreat.

Ujiri, according to the statement, said that sports as an important sector, needs proper attention by the government and to drive development, the government needs to bring in private investors.

He said commercialising sports has helped many developed countries.

Adeleke, who gave assurance of his administration’s readiness to develop sports in the state, extended an invitation to Ujiri to further consolidate his administration’s plans and efforts for the sector.

“I will invite you to Osun state in Nigeria. Come with sport investors. Osun is open for sports as a tool for economic development,” the governor said.