By Victor Kanayo
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has appointed John Owan Enoh as the new Minister of Sports.
Enoh, a former Nigerian lawmaker from Cross River State, was among Ministers-designate, who were assigned portfolios on Wednesday by the President.
A Farmer Turned Sports Number One Man
However, findings by Heritage Times HT revealed that the new man to lead the country’s Sports sector has farming as his major occupation, as many analysts believed that he would at best be appointed as Minister of Agriculture.
Though he had ventured into politics, Enoh owns numerous farms where he conducts arable and livestock production.
Further findings disclosed that Enoh who at the Senate between 2015 and 2019, has cultivated about 2000 hectares of lands as at 2021.
Enoh’s Vast Farming Expertise And Opportunities
Heritage Times HT also gathered that his farm spreads across various parts of Cross River State.
He has about 150 hectares of planted palms in his native Agbokim Waterfalls, expanding to about 100 hectares of planted palms, and counting, at Etara-Ekuri and all communities in Etung local government area of Cross River State, where the politician hails.
Born on June 4, 1966, Enoh is said to operate an out-grower scheme in communities where his farms are located.
The out-grower scheme is a corporate social responsibility scheme that empowers local small scale farmers with arable and livestock to grow in their farms and later provides them with the market to sell their products.
Enoh is designated Sports Minister at a time Nigeria’s Sporting fraternity is begging for fresh breath after the immediate past Minister Sunday Dare left nothing for any other to build on.
Despite inheriting a better grassroots development strategy from his predecessors which produced young athletes now blazing the trail in few sports, Dare failed to consolidate, rather he created landmines of challenges including under-funding sporting Federations and interfering in their administrative and technical decisions, a development many condemned after it set Nigeria back wards.