Nigeria Archery Federation (NAFED) director of marketing, Emmanuel Oyeleke has spoken extensively on factors and processes that can lead to the discovery of champions for the sport from every state across the country, Sports247 reports.

Oyeleke gave the expose while speaking in the wake of the country’s best-ever outing at the African Archery Championship, where the contingent won a medals’ haul of one gold, five silver and one bronze across the various events in Oran, Algeria.

While enthusing that the successful outing will inspire young talents to get involved in archery, Oyeleke added that there is a need for government backing, corporate support, philanthropic partnerships and greater investment in the sport all across Nigeria.

He revealed further that NAFED sent 18 archers to the competition, which marked the country’s largest contingent ever at the African championship, which took place from July 21st to 26th, with a total of 138 archers from 18 countries taking part under the auspices of World Archery Africa (WAAf).

Oyeleke commended all members of NAFED for their efforts and appealed to corporate organisations, commercial brands and individuals to support the national team through sponsorship, athlete development, equipment provision, travel logistics and media partnerships, as they seek to build on the outing in Oran.

“Behind every medal in Oran are thousands of young Nigerians picking up a bow for the first time. Our athletes have trained with discipline and sacrifice. What they need now is the backing of corporate Nigeria.

“The athletes have shown discipline and determination. What they now need is stronger support from the private sector and partners who can be part of a story of excellence at the very beginning of its arc.

“With the right partners, we can turn today’s headlines into ranges, coaches and champions in every state. This is how a sport is built and we’re inviting Nigeria to build it with us,” the marketing expert affirmed philosophically.

Sports247 gathered further that the team to Oran, which competed across six divisions during the competition, was led by NAFED president, Mohammed Baba Abdullahi, alongside the vice-president Augustine Obiefuna Chigbolu, with Aliyu Garga serving as coach.

Nigeria’s biggest success came in the barebow women’s team event, where Faith Adekogbe, Mandu Eteidung and Precious Fanny-Amun defeated hosts Algeria 5-3 in the final to claim the continental title, while reaching podium in both the barebow and compound categories.

The victory marked Nigeria’s first-ever team gold medal at the African Archery Championships and builds on their recent progress, after medal-winning campaigns in Pretoria (2022) and Tunisia (2023), as well as gold at the 2025 African Championship and 1st Run Archery Tournament in Côte d’Ivoire.

Femi Otedola, chairman of First HoldCo Plc, has increased his stake in the financial services group to 25.86 per cent after acquiring 1.78 billion additional shares worth about ₦222.20 billion.

In a regulatory filing on Thursday, First HoldCo disclosed that Mr Otedola, through Calvados Global Services Limited, purchased 1,779,094,976 ordinary shares at ₦124.90 per share. The new share purchase represents 3.91 per cent of the company’s outstanding shares.

Following the transaction, Mr Otedola’s total holding in the banking group rose to about 11.8 billion shares, which is equivalent to 25.86 per cent of the company’s issued share capital.

Based on the company’s share price of ₦122.95 as of 11:24 a.m. (WAT) on 30 July, Mr Otedola’s stake is valued at about ₦1.45 trillion.

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Mr Otedola has steadily increased his investment in First HoldCo since emerging as the company’s largest shareholder in 2021.

Most recently, on 22 July, he acquired an additional 706.1 million shares valued at ₦77.6 billion, raising his stake to 21.95 per cent at the time. In June, he also purchased 672.9 million shares worth ₦29.6 billion.

The June acquisition was completed during the ₦45 billion second tranche of First HoldCo’s ₦350 billion private placement programme, in which shares were offered at ₦44 per unit.

The group plans to inject the proceeds from the capital raise into First Bank of Nigeria Limited, its flagship commercial banking subsidiary, as part of its capital restoration and broader balance sheet strengthening programme.