The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Development and the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) are set to begin strategic collaboration aimed at strengthening grassroots sports development, youth empowerment, tourism, and capacity building across Nigeria.
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This followed a courtesy visit by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, Hon. Adeyinka Anthony Adeboye, and members of his team to the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of NIHOTOUR, Aare (Dr.) Abisoye Fagade, at the institute’s headquarters in Abuja.
Speaking during the meeting, Hon. Adeboye described the engagement as a major step toward building sustainable partnerships capable of positively impacting young Nigerians through sports, education, tourism, and hospitality development.
“Sports is a complete ecosystem. Tourism, hospitality, youth engagement, talent development, education, and national branding all work together. Partnerships like this are very important as we continue to build sustainable grassroots sports structures across Nigeria.”
The SSA further noted that the collaboration aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, particularly in the areas of youth empowerment, job creation, training, and national development.
“Mr. President remains committed to youth development and creating opportunities through sports and other strategic sectors. We believe this partnership can open doors for capacity building, sports tourism, and sustainable community engagement.”
In his remarks, Aare (Dr.) Abisoye Fagade emphasized the importance of hospitality and tourism within the sports ecosystem, especially at the grassroots level.
“Hospitality and tourism are integral parts of grassroots sports development. Sports and tourism work hand in hand, and both sectors must continue to collaborate to create opportunities for young people and strengthen national development.”
The NIHOTOUR DG also stressed the importance of continuous education, training, retraining, and engagement as essential requirements for sustainable growth.
“We must continue educating, training, retraining, and engaging people for us to get everything right. Capacity building remains very important if we truly want to grow sports, tourism, and hospitality in Nigeria.”
Dr. Fagade further expressed readiness for collaboration with the Office of the SSA on Grassroots Sports Development, noting that both institutions share common goals centered around youth empowerment, talent development, national unity, and economic growth.
Both parties expressed optimism that the proposed partnership would lead to impactful programmes, sports tourism initiatives, training opportunities, and community-based engagements capable of benefiting young Nigerians nationwide.
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