Chairman of the Main Organising Committee of the Niger
Delta Sports Festival, Alabo Boma Iyaye, has expressed satisfaction with the
level of preparations ahead of the Niger Delta Sports Festival.
He disclosed this on Tuesday during an inspection tour
of hostel facilities and competition venues around Uyo which are being prepared
to host the event, the first ever sub-regional multi-sports competition in
Nigeria, and an epoch making initiative towards sustaining the
supremacy of the region in sports and reviving the sporting fortunes of the
nation.
Iyaye who is also the Execitive Director,
Administration and Finance of the Nigeria Delta Development Commission,
sponsors of the event, could not hide his excitement when he was shown round
the Dakkada Skills Acquisition Centre pencilled for the accommodation of five
of the nine states, as well as competitions in Basketball, Tennis and
Volleyball.
Other facilities inspected include the West Itam
Sports Centre, Ultra Fit Sports Centre, the Swimming Pool section of the Uyo
Township Stadium, which is undergoing renovation, and the Cordelia Connely
College.
"I am really excited about the facilities and the
level of preparations. From what I have seen, I can say that we are ready. What
is left is just to dot some Is and cross some Ts. The consultants have done a
great job, and it gives me joy.
"I used to think that Edo or Delta would be best
qualified to host these games in terms of facilities, because they have
recently hosted the National Sports Festivals, but looking at what Akwa Ibom
has given to us, I am indeed proud."
On the benefit of the festival, Iyaye said it is
multi-pronged.
"We know that the Niger Delta Development
Commission mandate states produce about 70 to 80 percent of Nigeria's best
athletes, but we have also oberved the decline in our nation's sporting
fortunes, and as an interventionist agency which has been delivering on various
infrastructural needs across the region, we find it necessary to intervene in
sports, to provide opportunities for our youths to excel and to show the world
that the Niger Delta is not only about oil. This is why the theme of the festival
is "Beyond Oil: Harnessing Talents.
"But the festival is not only about talent
discovery. It also leads us into intervention in sporting facilities, like we
are doing now in Akwa Ibom."
The Niger Delta Sports Festival, sponsored by the
Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, holds in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, from
April 1 to 8, 2025.
The event is also supported by Premium Trust as Lead Corporate Sponsor, alongside Ramec Group, Ocean Sands and Havillah Hotels.
Comments:
Leave a Reply