Tinubu urges Commonwealth to award 2030 Games to Nigeria

 

President Bola Tinubu has again expressed Nigeria’s readiness to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, as the country hopes to make history as the first African nation to host the Games, The PUNCH reports.

The 2030 Commonwealth Games will also mark the centenary celebration of the event, which was first held in Hamilton, Canada, in 1930.

Commonwealth Sports president, Donald Rukare, confirmed earlier this month that Nigeria will face competition from India, as the two countries that have put in bids to host the 2030 edition of the Games, after they both met the August 31 deadline.

Nigeria had pencilled Abuja as the preferred host city, while Ahmadabad was put forward by India.

In a passionate message to the Commonwealth, Tinubu described Nigeria as the gateway to Africa and urged the body to recognise the continent’s central place in the future of the Games.

“To the Commonwealth family, it is time for Africa,” Tinubu wrote in posts sighted by The PUNCH on his official social media accounts.

“After 100 years of the Commonwealth Games, they have never been hosted on African soil. By bringing the Commonwealth centenary Games to Nigeria in 2030, you will send a powerful message that every region of the Commonwealth matters, and that Africa is not only part of the story, but central to its future.