Shehu Dikko, chairman of National Sports Commission
Shehu Dikko, chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), says the sector is currently contributing “almost more than” one percent to Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Dikko spoke in a chat with journalists on Monday at an event in Lagos.
The NSC chairman said the commission analysed the figures from the data gathered for the final quarter of 2025.
Dikko added that the NSC has established a “data sheet for sports” to document the sector’s economic impact.
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“I can tell you my final take on all this is that there is a lack of data in this country,” the NSC chairman said.
“If we have data, most of these problems will not happen. Part of the work that we have done is we have set up a clear data sheet for sports, where in every quarter, we will analyse the impact of sports in Nigeria.
“In terms of sponsorship, jobs created and competitions held from amateurs to the national level. We will be using that data going forward.
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“For the last quarter of this year, we found out we have done almost more than 1 percent of GDP; nobody had that data(in the past), but now we have.”
In 2024, Dikko pledged to develop a viable sports economy that contributes “at least three percent to the nation’s GDP in the next four years”.
According to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s GDP stood at N51.20 trillion as of September 2025.
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