Nigeria president, Goodluck Jonathan, represented by his deputy, Namadi Sambo on Saturday watched the hoisting of flags preceding the 2012 National Sports Festival in Lagos.

During the flag hoisting at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, Sambo wants the host state of the 18th edition of the National Sports Festival to "surpass the previous editions.”

“I’m happy to be in Lagos for the hoisting of the flag for the 18th National Sports Festival. I want to congratulate Lagos for their preparation for the event. I know what Lagos is capable of doing and I expect Lagos to host a very successful event that will surpass the previous editions,” he said.

Sambo said the Nigerian government is committed to sports development hence his presence in Lagos to represent the president.

He also wants the Main Organising Committee (MOC) and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to ensure that Eko 2012 remains in the minds of participants as he believes Lagos has the capacity to organise a successful sports festival.

“The Federal Government is very committed to the transformation of the sports sectors. I am happy that the sports retreat we organised last month in Abuja was as a result of our team's failure at the 2012 Olympics in London. But I believe that Eko 2012 can help us to realise our objectives,” he said.

The Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, said his state is ready to play host to the thousands of athletes from the country as infrastructure are at least close to 100 percent state.

He also reserved kind words for the LOC for its effort in ensuring that the state is ready to show hospitality to participants.

Sambo later hoisted the Nigerian flag to show support for the games while Fashola put up the flag of the host state just as those of the 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory was hoisted too.

This year's National Sports Festival starts on November 27 and runs till December 9.