Delta State has emerged champions in the Nigeria’s national sporting events in the last few years thanks to the exemplary and devoted platforms put in place by the successive government in the state, and more importantly, the government of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has done a lot in the area of sports development in the south-south state of Nigeria.
The Commissioner for Information in Delta State, Hon. Charles Aniagwu, on Saturday, during his periodic media briefing at the ongoing 21st National Sports Festival, which the state is holding, was so confidence telling the sporting press that Delta State remains the King of Sports in Nigeria, adding that the 21st edition of national sports festival would also proof to Nigerians the dominance of the state once again.
Team Delta won the last festival held in Edo State and by the record so far, though not yet officials, the state is gradually coasting home of winning this ongoing Delta 2022.
Aniagwu, who has been in the media profession for over 20 years with special interest in perception management, said Governor Okowa is a keen lover of sports and has people around him who have been making the works of developing sports very easy.
“We are believers in groom them young, that is the reason we give premium attention to the primary and secondary school games. Regular competitions sponsored by Zenith Bank have been the icing on the cake for us because we believe that catching them young for the future is the best if we really want to develop sports in this country.
“Our athletes in the ongoing festival are young, and I must confess, they are mostly students. This made us to close schools during this period of the sports festival so that they will have their attention focused on the assignments at hand. By the time the festival finishes, the schools will re-open,” said the Commissioner, who had once worked as Political Correspondent with DBN TV; National Assembly Correspondent with DAAR Communication Pic; Producer/Presenter, Political Platform, RayPower FM.
He disclosed that the ongoing festival is on course without any hitch and if there is any, there are several people who have been mandated by the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to take charge and address issues as they come.
“We cannot deny the fact that there will be challenges because we are all humans, but we have put in place proactive measures to address whatever challenge we will be facing in the course of this event. I want to assure that Delta State is known for its hospitality, and we will do everything within our power to ensure that visitors have awesome stay in our state this period.
“The attention of Nigeria is focused on Delta State, and we will not disappoint,” he said.
He said the Delta 2022 sports festival is unique because there will be participation of foreign nations for the first time, adding that, as promised by the Minister of Sports, Mr Sunday Dare, athletes from the neighbouring nations such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin Republic, Niger, Cameroon and Kenya are being expected.
“Athletes from Ghana, Cote d’ Ivoire and Republic of Benin are already in town, but their participation will not attract any medal. They are coming to spice up the tournament, motivate our local athletes and more importantly to compete with our local athletes. We are equally expecting some surprises where our athletes will go on to shock these foreign stars. This is the kind of competition we are expecting at the ongoing Delta 2022,” said Aniagwu, who is also a member of Presidential Campaign Council of People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
