Fashola receives Commonwealth Baton, gets IOC honour

Lagos State was the last point of call for the Commonwealth Baton as Governor Babatunde Fashola received the delegation of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) on Tuesday as part of the baton tour of Nigeria.

Also, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) bestowed the highest honour on the governor as part of the 150 years anniversary of the modern Olympics.

According to the representative of (CGF), Sharad Rao, the baton tour across Commonwealth nations was lauched by the Queen of England in October 2013 with the final berthing in Scotland during the Commonwealth Games in July.

He described Nigeria as an important country in Commonwealth considering the performance of Nigeria at the games.

However, IOC plague to Fashola was presented by the President, Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Sani Ndanusa, who said among the four outstanding individuals honoured across the globe based on his support for sports both in terms of providing facilities and organizing tournaments.

The NOC boss said that Lagos State has been able to stage 10 international sports tournaments, which he admitted was of international standard.

He added all these qualified the governor to be considered for the honour.

According to the Ndanusa, the choice of the governor was based on his immense support and contribution to sports development in the country.

“The IOC trophy is presented to an outstanding individual, who has contributed immensely to sports in a particular country. Four outstanding individuals are expected to get this award this year and Governor Fashola has been chosen as one of the recipients of the trophy, which also marked the 150 years of Modern Olympics. IOC also considered Fashola’s contribution particularly his involvement in sports as a former athlete in bestowing him the honour of the IOC Trophy.

In his response, Fashola, commended the CGF for its efforts to united the globe through the games, adding that efforts must be made by every nation to provide quality service to its citizenry.

He described the IOC award as a confirmation of the performance of the state Ministry of Youth, Sports and Social Development led by its commissioner, Wahid Oshodi and his team.