Buhari charges Rio Olympics team to ‘go for gold’

President Muhammadu Buhari has tasked the representative of Nigeria in the Rio Olympics games in Brazil to do the nation proud.

He also ordered the immediate release of funds budgeted for Nigeria’s successful participation in the completion.

The president said this at the presidential villa in Abuja on Tuesday, during the official handover of Team Nigeria to the Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC).

He warned the athletes against any act capable of tarnishing the country’s image and charged them to be worthy ambassadors of Nigeria.

“Go for Gold in Rio! Go Team Nigeria! Go!” he said.

“Let me equally assure you that the federal government is fully committed to our delegation’s successful participation in the Rio Olympic games and will ensure that funds budgeted for the Games are released without further delay.

“We are all aware of our nation’s dwindling revenue and the current global economic challenges. It is therefore imperative that funds provided for the games are utilized judiciously.

“In this regard, any official who has no business at the games should stay at home to cheer the team from here and if they must travel to the Olympics, they should do so at their own expense.

“As the federal government formally hands over our athletes and officials for the Rio Olympics to the Nigeria Olympic Committee today, I want to charge all athletes and team officials going to the Olympic games to be worthy ambassadors of our great country, both on the field of play and outside the sporting arena.

“The eyes of the global community are on you and as such, you should desist from acts that could dent the image of our great country, Nigeria.”

Buhari observed that apart from qualifying for the Olympic Games, Nigerian athletes also qualified for the Paralympic Games.

The Paralympic Games comes up immediately after the Olympic Games.

He congratulated all the athletes on their qualifications for these games, and advised them to steer clear of drugs to avoid embarrassing the country.

“You are very aware of recent doping allegations, which cast aspersions not only on the individual athletes, but on their home countries,” he said.

“Please keep Nigeria clean.

“The menace of drug use in sports is threatening the core foundation of sports and has led to embarrassing situations as well as sanction of some great sporting nations.

“I, therefore, urge you to keep the integrity of our nation intact by competing clean and fair at the Olympic Games.”

In his remarks, Solomon Dalung, minister of sports, assured Buhari and Nigerians of the athletes’ resolve to win trophies for the country without cutting corners.

According to him, 86 athletes will be participating in nine games at the Olympics.

Habu Gumel, president of NOC, Habu Gumel, inaugurated Buhari as the grand patron of the Olympic committee.