Secretary-General of the Nigeria Olympics Committee, Tunde Popoola has outlined the Country’s aim for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Speaking on Brila FM’s “The Big Interview”, Popoola emphasized the importance of supporting athletes and providing them with the foundation to thrive:

“The athletes shouldn’t be begging for bread, this is an opportunity to empower them,” the NOC scribe said. “Most of the funds, like what the Sports Minister said money collected will go to the athletes and we are of the same opinion.”

“We need to really empower them, some who are not really well to do at the end of the day they should be proud. At the end of the day, We also want to make the athletes happy and include them in the picture.”

Popoola also highlighted the committee’s broader goals in Paris.

“We want to expose them, expose what is really going on here, if we have a bad image and do particularly well in the Olympics everybody will not seem to think about that anymore. It polishes our image as a country, it puts us up there It positions us very well.”

He assured that Team Nigeria will deliver a strong performance due to extensive preparations.

“The colour of the medal is what I cannot say, but we will definitely come back with a larger number than we used to have.

Samuel Uchenna Ogazi. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images for Commonwealth Sport)

“I think whatever colours of medals we are going to get shouldn’t be less than 12.”

At the last Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020, Nigeria won two medals—a silver and a bronze.

William Troost-Ekong celebrates his Olympic Bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Games.

The country’s best performance was in 1996, where it secured six medals: two gold, one silver, and three bronze.