President
Goodluck Jonathan has charged Team Nigeria preparing for the 2014
Commonwealth Games holding in Glasgow, Scotland to put in outstanding
performances for best results the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
Jonathan said this when he received the
Glasgow 2014 Queens’ Baton Relay from the representative of the
Commonwealth Games Federation, Mr. Sharad Rao, at the Forecourt of the
Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday.
The Queens’ Baton relay, which will
travel to 70 Commonwealth nations and territories over a period of 288
days, symbolises a curtain raiser to the 20th Commonwealth Games in
Glasgow.
The relay was launched on October 9,
2013 by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace at a ceremony where she
placed her message to the Commonwealth nations.
Jonathan said the relevant sporting
authority should ensure that a compact and powerful team of athletes
were sent to the Glasgow events.
He said Nigerians were expecting a
better performance at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games than the outings of
1994 and 2010 where 11 gold medals were won, respectively.
“As you probably are aware, Nigeria, a
committed member of the Commonwealth has participated in all but four of
the Commonwealth Games since 1950 even before our independence as a
nation in 1960,” the president said.
“We have won medals in all the games we
have participated in. Our first gold medal was won in the high jump at
the British Empire and Commonwealth Games as it was then called in
Vancouver, Canada in 1954.
“Nigeria won a total of seven medals – one gold, two silver and three bronze – in Vancouver.
“Our most memorable outing was the 1994
and 2010 games in Victoria, Canada and Delhi, India, where we won eleven
gold medals respectively.
“This period, you will all agree with
me, has been a glorious time in our sporting activities. Nigerians are
therefore expecting a much better performance in Glasgow.”
PUNCH NG
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