Signed at the NOC boardroom in Lagos between the body's secretary general Tunde Popoola and Pastor Paul Bankole, the ceremony formed part of a summit entitled: "Maximising the Potential of Nigerian Youth, Teenagers and Children Towards the 2020 Olympic Games: Roles of the Church, Corporate Organisations, Media and Government."

It came with the aim of improving the long-term fortunes of the West African nation, and will use camps attended by churchgoers to identify youngsters who have the potential to reach the highest levels.

It comes after Nigeria drew a complete blank at London 2012, despite sending a seemingly strong squad of 53 athletes in eight sports.

Afterwards, then President Goodluck Jonathan called for a "complete overhaul of Nigerian sports administration".

Sports where Nigeria is seen as having the greatest medal potential are being targeted, notably wrestling, table tennis, athletics, swimming, boxing, basketball, cycling and martial arts.

"These sports have been earmarked for laurels during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, hence the need to embark on a five-year search and groom programme to discover potential Olympic stars amongst millions of our youngsters in Nigeria," said Bankole.

Nigeria has been one of the strongest sporting nations in Africa over recent decades, winning 19 medals across the five Games between Barcelona 1992 and Beijing 2008, including three gold medals in the sports of athletics and football.

The London setback was therefore a major disappointment, but improvement seemed to have been made at last year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where Nigeria finished eighth in the medals table with 36 medals, including 11 gold in athletics, weightlifting, powerlifting and wrestling.

"We in the Olympic Committee are very happy to be associated with the RCCG's vision for Nigeria to win gold and other shades of medals at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo," added Popoola. 

"The package the RCCG is giving Nigeria, other organisations should take a cue from this.

"The RCCG Redemption Camp has everything that has to do with sports development.

"It has the land for the package they are championing and also the facilities.

"They have the vision and determination, the structure, personnel and the leadership to make Nigerian sports great again.

"It is a place where the country can achieve the vision to ensure Team Nigeria wins gold and other medals at the 2020 Olympics."

Nigeria remains a marginally dominant Christian country, with a 2008 poll finding 56 per cent of the population Christian, and 43 per cent Muslim.

The RCCG, founded in Nigeria in 1952, is one of the leading Protestant churches.

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