By Aderonke Ojo
The President of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), Musa Nimrod, has explained that the Federation’s decision to intensify anti-doping education was guided by directives from the Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC) and the need to protect the integrity of the sport.
Nimrod spoke on Thursday at the Anti-Doping Information and Education Seminar organised for clubs participating in the ongoing NVBF 2025 Super Cup at the Indoor Sports Hall, Package B, Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
He said the initiative followed deliberations at the last NOC Congress, where sports federations were encouraged to adopt a top-bottom approach to anti-doping education.
According to him, the presentation made by the President of the NOC Medical and Anti-Doping Committee at the congress further reinforced the need to step down the programme to athletes at domestic level.
“Nigeria has now fulfilled the constitutional requirements of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and we must be cautious of the current trend of athletes taking drugs or competing under the influence,” Nimrod said.
He noted that although the Federation may not yet have the resources for comprehensive testing, it is working towards partnering with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to conduct basic screening for players.
The NVBF president added that Nigerian teams already undergo drug testing before international competitions, stressing that the Federation is determined to align domestic competitions with global best practices.