Stakeholders in Nigerian tennis have described as a welcome development the decision by former Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon.  Victor Ochei, to accept the call to contest for the role of president of the  Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF).

 Ochei was recently nominated by the National Sports Commission (NSC) as the Sponsorship/Philantropist representative on the board of the federation. But the businessman, who for many years sponsored the Wheelchair Tennis Championship, has been successfully lobbied by some stakeholders to contest for the top job at the federations’ elections billed for Saturday in Abuja.

The NSC has not hidden its ambition of “returning Nigeria to its glorious days in global sports,’ hence its insistence that only people of impeccable character, who have the means and reach to grow the various sports bodies, would be accepted to govern the federations.

 To achieve this objective, officials of the NSC have been working to get men and women that have impressionable imprints on all the sports to take up the mantle of leadership.

 Apart from the NSC, some stakeholders have taken up the job of scouting for ‘sound minds’ to join the NTF board.

 While Ochei is tipped for the presidency, the stakeholders are reportedly working hard to get former Nigerian tennis super stars, Nduka Odizor, David Imonitie and Sadiq Abdullahi join the board.

 Explaining the stakeholders’ choice of Ochei as NTF president, Caleb Tsav, said it is important that tennis gets it right this term to put the federation on the right growth path.

 He added that the stakeholders have decided to follow the process from the nomination stage to the Saturday’s election “to avoid the mistakes of the past.”

 He said: “The question we are asking every contestant is ‘what have you done for tennis to qualify you for leadership on the board?’

“It is very important because our apathy to the elections in the past brought tennis to where it is now.

  “Ochei has faithfully and diligently committed about N200million in sponsoring the yearly Davnotch Open Tennis Championship for half a decade (2021-2025).

  “To buttress his affinity for tennis, he is  an Audemars Piguet Ambassador, as he religiously attends the four yearly global tennis grand slams for over a decade.

“As an avowed sports aficionado, he equally sponsors the yearly Onicha-Olona Unity Cup soccer tournament for the past five years.

“He also constructed the Donald Ochei mini-stadium in his home town, Onicha-Olona in Aniocha North LGA, Delta State, a feat that is worthy of emulation.”

Tsav said that consideration for election into sporting federations must be based on the candidate’s in-depth knowledge of and avowed affinity to the sport.  “Most importantly, attracting sponsorships, as these are ostensibly, catalysts for the essence of taking Nigeria back to its glorious days in global sports.”