Senator John Owan- Enoh, Minister of Sports Development, has called on public servants to imbibe the culture of physical fitness so as to ensure a more productive and healthy nation.
Owan- Enoh, gave the advice at the October edition of the monthly keep-fit aerobics exercise ahead of the 2023 Federal Public Service Games (FEPSGA). He said the ministry was ready to partner with any organization to develop programmes that will encourage sports development in the country.
“Through effective collaboration between the Ministry and FEPSGA, we can come up with initiatives that target both the male and female adults in the Public Service.
”This will encourage them to cultivate a culture of physical fitness and health consciousness”, he stated.
Owan-Enoh opined that physical fitness and health education are integral components of a thriving and prosperous nation. He stressed that one of the vital elements that Nigerians as a people continually miss in the sports sector is the physical fitness component.
“The World Health Organization (WHO) some years ago focused on the benefits of fitness, and physical activity in its guide to all nations. Its benefits to healthy living are enormous,” he reiterated.
The minister urged the leadership of FEPSGA to come out with advocacy towards encouraging Federal workers to imbibe the culture of physical activity and health consciousness.
Owan-Enoh was decorated as the Captain of the 2023 FEPSGA aerobics exercise. He said that physical fitness will not only increase the physical and mental state of an individual at the optimal, but also the productive capacity of the workers in line with global realities.
Also, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan said an able workforce will be a productive workforce. She was represented by Dr Comfort Adeosun, Director, Occupational Hazard and Safety Department in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation
The Head of service stressed the importance of being healthy for optimal productivity. “If you are not healthy, your performance will be low, thus affecting efficient service delivery to the citizenry,” she said.
