… charges state’s contingent to victory
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has charged participants in the Niger Delta Sports Festival to build friendship, and promote peace in the region, even as he tasked the State’s contingent to host the competition to win.
Governor Eno was speaking at the opening ceremony of the maiden edition of the Festival held at the Uyo Township Stadium on Wednesday, April 2, 2025.
Harping on the theme, “Beyond Oil: Harnessing Talents,” the Governor described the sports fiesta as being in line with one of the thematic areas of his administration’s ARISE Agenda: Human Capital development.
He said the vision of the current Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC) management to restore the past glory of sporting excellence in the region aligns with the State Government’s vision of discovering talents through sport events as reflected in the State’s creation of a stand-alone Ministry of Sports.
According Governor Eno “The ministry is headed by a veteran Sport Journalist, and an International football Administrator, Paul “Sports” Bassey. Time was, when athletes from our region dominated Nigerian Sports, from athletics to boxing, table tennis to weightlifting from our beautiful, peaceful and serene Capital City of Uyo to the bustling oil and gas hub in Eket, and to the Rafia City in Ikot Ekpene.
“To all the Athletes gathered here, I urge you to uphold discipline and the spirit of sportsmanship.”
He then charged the competitors to make judicious use of the opportunity by building friendship, promoting unity and showcasing their talents, while challenging the State’s contingent to put their best effort by winning medals to justify the hosting right.
In his words ” Beyond winning medals, this event is an opportunity to build friendship, promote unity and showcase the talent of the youths of the Niger Delta.
“To Akwa Ibom State Contingent, I Challenge you to go out there to win medals for our State. We are not only hosting these games, we are hosting to win.”
Speaking also, the Governor of Ondo State, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the support given to the NDDC to organize the festival, stressing that the sports fiesta will serve as a bridge and help to fastrack the discovery of sports talents in the Niger Delta region.
The Chairman National Sports Commission, Alhaji Shehu Dikko, who represented President Tinubu commended Governor Eno for his proactive and impactful efforts at ensuring the successful hosting of the event.
Earlier, NDDC’s Executive Director, Finance and Administration and Chairman, Planning Committee of the Festival, Alabo Boma Iyaye, thanked Governor Eno for his support and for granting the NDDC the opportunity to host the competition in his State, noting that the success of the event would not have been possible without his cooperation and support.
He described the Festival as part of the vision of the Renewed Hope Agenda which aims at gathering youths across the Niger Delta to ensure that young talents are motivated, while calling on prospective volunteer hosts to indicate interests to enhance the effective planning of subsequent festivals.