President Bola Tinubu has urged Team Nigeria to compete with courage, discipline and integrity at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland
He charged the athletes to make the country proud through fair competition.
Tinubu gave the charge on Thursday through his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, during a presidential send-off ceremony at the State House, Abuja, ahead of the team’s departure for the Games.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu described the athletes as worthy ambassadors of Nigeria’s resilience, talent and determination, expressing confidence in their ability to excel on the global stage.
The Nigerian delegation was led to the State House by the Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, alongside the commission’s Director-General, Bukola Olopade, and the Director-General of the National Institute for Sports, Philip Shaibu.
The President urged the athletes to uphold the highest standards of sportsmanship throughout the competition, stressing that success must come through discipline, hard work and respect for the rules.
“You have trained for this moment. You have sacrificed for this moment. Go to Glasgow with confidence, discipline, and unity. Go with patriotism and with the mindset that Nigeria can stand with the very best in the world,” Tinubu said.
Tinubu said every medal won should reflect the country’s values, adding that integrity remained more important than victory. He also warned the athletes against actions that could tarnish Nigeria’s image, saying the country was exporting not only its sporting talent but also its values to the international community.
“We must remember that we’re exporting our values, our moral values, our core values as a nation. I know what happened last time in Birmingham, maybe perhaps an error of judgment and that nothing like that will happen this time around, and that experience must be a lesson for all of us,” he said.
The President reiterated his administration’s commitment to clean sports, citing the enactment of the Nigerian Anti-Doping Act and the inauguration of the board of the Nigerian Anti-Doping Centre as key measures to strengthen the country’s anti-doping framework.
He said the reforms were designed to protect athletes, ensure compliance with international standards and build a sports system in which Nigerian victories would be respected globally.
Tinubu also pledged continued investment in sports development and expressed confidence that Team Nigeria could surpass the country’s best-ever Commonwealth Games performance.
Earlier, Dikko thanked the President for approving the presidential send-off, saying the Tinubu administration had given Nigerian sports unprecedented attention through policies aimed at promoting youth development, economic growth, national unity and international visibility.
Olopade also commended the President’s support for sports development, noting that government reforms had attracted increased private-sector investment into the sector.
Speaking on behalf of the athletes, Team Nigeria captain Oluwafemi Folashade pledged that the contingent would represent the country with honour and strive to restore Nigeria’s sporting glory.
Nigeria will compete with a 72-member contingent across 10 sports at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, hoping to surpass its previous best performance at the Games.
