Commissioners for Sports and Chairmen of Sports Commissions in the nine mandate states of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) have lauded the NDDC’s leadership for inaugurating the Niger Delta Sports Festival.
They all expressed their feelings at a stakeholders meeting with the NDDC and heads of sports in the states, held at the NDDC Headquarters, Port Harcourt, Riviera State recently.
The delegates also said that the initiative would greatly enhance sports and human capital development in the region.
They lauded the intervention of the NDDC in the region’s sports sector, including the competition in the region.
Speaking, the Executive Director, Finance and Administration of the NDDC, Alabo Boma Iyaye, also said that the project was conceived in recognition of the fact that the Niger Delta had been producing a lot of elite sportsmen and women in Nigeria.
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Iyaye, a former Commissioner for Sports in Rivers State, is also the Chairman of the Planning Committee for the competition.
He stressed the need for sustained output to elevate the fortunes of the region and the nation’s sports, respectively, to meet the objectives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said the NDDC had been working with the Project Consultants, Dunamis Icon Limited, for several months to achieve several milestones in the preparations for the fiesta, noting that the meeting was called to properly brief the state sports commissioners so that all the stakeholders would be on the same page.
He said: “We considered it imperative to partner with and support the states for the discovery and grooming of talents into national and international stars and enable the region to effectively tap into the global sports economy.
“We cannot over-emphasise the role of sports in the transformation of society, but we recognise that while various state governments are interested in sports, there are funding difficulties due to the competing demands of other sectors.
“Considering that the Niger Delta states produce the largest number of Nigeria’s elite athletes, the nation suffers if they stop producing.
“So as the NDDC marks its 25th anniversary, we thought it wise to start with the introduction of the Niger Delta Sports Festival to provide a platform for our teeming youngsters to showcase their talents, and with plans to continue to groom them through support for training and participation in competitions.”
Iyaye said that one of the Commission’s major objectives had been to drive sports bottom-up from the grassroots to provide opportunities for the rural folks.
“In this regard, we have decided that the preliminary trials and selection process shall commence from the local government and federal constituencies,” he added.
Welcoming the development, all the states of the NDDC declared their readiness to participate in the festival and pleaded with the NDDC to sustain it as an annual event.
According to the Rivers and Cross River States Commissioners for Sports, Chris Green and Agnes Atsu, the introduction of the Niger Delta Sports Festival is by the hand of God and an answer to the prayers of both sports administrators, coaches, athletes, fans, and the entire people of the region.
They added that this would cushion the gap in the funding of talent hunts, training, provision of facilities, and competitions by the state governments.
Also in attendance were Bayelsa and Imo States Commissioner for Sports, Daniel Igali and Obinna Onyeocha, the Permanent Secretaries of Akwa Ibom and Rivers State Ministries of Sports, Lady Nsa Bassey and Mr Kelvin Nweke.
The Commissioners for Sports of Edo, Abia, Delta, and Ondo states were represented respectively by the Executive Director, Edo State Sports Commission, Frank Ilaboya, the Special Assistant to the Governor of Abia State, Onyebuchi Chukwu, the Director of Administration, Delta State Sports Commission, Omajajah Onoriode, and the Director of Planning, Research and Innovation as well as the General Manager of Ondo State Sports Council, Mr Akin Kayode and Joseph Fagite.
The Project Consultants team, led by its Chairman, Sir Itiako Ikpokpo, included Mr. Fred Edoreh, Director of the Organisation, and Mr. Seigha Porbeni, Co-Head of the Technical Directorate.
Other members of the team included Mr Yusuf Ali, Head of Competitions; Enefiok Udo-Obong, Co-Head Technical; Dr Ochuko Igbigbisie, Head of Facilities; Ono Akpe, Sponsorship and Marketing; Onome Obruthe, Special Duties Harry Iwuala, Communications, Innocent Afereha, Finance and Accounts, and Tessie Ineke, Head Secretariat.
Highlights of the occasion included a presentation by the Project Consultants.
The meeting unanimously endorsed Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, as host of the maiden edition.
The fiesta scheduled to be held from April 1 to April 9 would include traditional wrestling alongside Olympic-style wrestling as part of the competition.
Other events are Athletics, Basketball, Boxing, Canoeing, Chess, Football, Handball, Para-Athletics, Para-Powerlifting, Scrabble, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Volleyball and Weightlifting
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