Wadata Barau of Bauchi
State, on Saturday, emerged winner of the male category of the fourth edition
of the Senator Douye Diri (SDD) Bayelsa Marathon. One hundred and thirty-five
athletes participated in the elite, teens (male and female students) and
leisure runner’s categories of the 21km and 5km races respectively.
Twenty-four-year-old Barau, a 400-level student of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
University, Bauchi, beat other participants in the 21km elite event to clinch
the N500, 000 star prize. The race flagged off from the Akenfa community along
the Glory Drive and terminated at the Peace Park in Yenagoa. Nenfort Martins
from Plateau State came second and received a cash prize of N300, 000 while
Selengue Constant, also from Plateau, was third and got N200, 000. In the
female category, Yilven Nicholas from Plateau State came first and took the
N500,000 prize followed by Delta State-born Charity Agofure who got N300,000
while Goar Grace of Plateau State placed third and received N200,000. In the
male teen category, Andrew Bright emerged champion with a cash reward of N150,
000, Wisdom Fyneface placed second and got N100, 000 while Abule Ayibakipriye
and Moses Amalala had a tie for the third place and received the N50, 000
prize. Speaking at the event, the Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye
Diri, congratulated the athletes and bikers for participating in the historic
SDD Bayelsa Marathon, which he said had come to stay. Describing Bayelsa as a
sporting state, the governor expressed gratitude to the chairman and members of
the Local Organizing Committee and the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Hon.
Daniel Igali as well as sponsors for sustaining the marathon and making it a
success. He said: “The marathon was initiated by a young man in the state,
Comrade Odonkumo Igbeita, who mobilized some persons on a walk from
Kolokuma/Opokuma to Yenagoa in appreciation of my emergence as governor in
February 2020. Since then, l became interested in their activities and this is
the fourth edition in the marathon series. "l am happy that young people
have keyed into the SDD Bayelsa Marathon and the participants of this race will
go beyond Bayelsa and excel at national and international competitions. Bayelsa
should be the cradle of sports in Nigeria." Diri, who stressed that
government alone cannot fund the development of sports, urged corporate organizations,
particularly the international oil companies operating in the state, to take up
sponsorship of sporting activities and steer the youths toward meaningful
ventures. He commended Igali for his effort at encouraging and grooming young
talents from primary and secondary schools as well as the sponsors of the
marathon, which included the Dr. Gloria Diri Foundation and Tonye Isenah
Foundation. In his remarks, the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Daniel
Igali, said: “The governor has done exceedingly well in the past four years,
particularly for investing in road infrastructure and sports development.”
Igali explained that the organizing committee added the student’s category in
this year’s edition, stating that speed walk will be part of next year's event.
Also speaking, chairman of the Bayelsa Marathon Club, Comrade Odonkumo Igbeita,
said the vision for starting the SDD Marathon was to emulate other states that
host such events as well as help to boost the tourism sector. Igbeita expressed
appreciation to the state government for supporting the event and thanked the
Gloria Diri Foundation and the Tonye Isenah Foundation for their sponsorship.
Daniel Alabrah Chief Press Secretary to the Bayelsa State Governor
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