Sports
Company To Spend N500m On Polo Club’s House
The Chairman, Lubrik Construction Co. (LCC) Ltd. Nasiru Dano, has said that the company will soon embark on the construction of a befitting N500 million ultramodern club house for the Guards Polo Club (GPC), Abuja, as part of its commitment to give back to the society.
The project, according to Dano, who also doubles as the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Nigerian Army Polo Association (NAPA) said the gesture was part of LCC’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and commitment to continue to support the Nigerian Army.
“Beyond the Guards Polo Club in Abuja, we have also supported almost six or seven different polo clubs in the country.
“So, we are looking at between 8 -12 months to complete the building and finishing of a world class club house here at the Guards polo club,” he said.
Tidesports source reports that the ground breaking ceremony for the proposed club house was held on the side lines of the ongoing Nigeria National Carnival Polo tournament at the club yesterday.
Maj. Gen. Haruna Momoh, the Deputy Chief of Policy and Plans/Director Staff duties at the Nigerian Army Headquarters, who represented the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen Tukur Buratai and performed the ceremony, described the project as ‘a legacy that will stand the test of time.’
Momoh expressed gratitude to LCC for their support and commitment, saying, “On behalf of the COAS, officers and men of the Nigerian Army, I want to thank LCC most graciously for choosing to embark on this great project.
“This indeed is a legacy that will remain in our memory for a long time to come. We look forward to the manifestation of greater things and partnerships in the years ahead,” he said.
Chairman of Guards Polo Club, Amb. Sani Bala expressed gratitude to the company, saying that it was a great milestone for the club.
“We are very delighted that the appeals we have been making to well-meaning Nigerians and corporate bodies alike to support the game of polo are yielding fantastic results.
“LCC is coming with a lot of groups, companies and banks to build this wonderful club house. It is indeed going to be one of its kind in the country and we are really very happy’’, Bala said.
The chairman also revealed that plans were underway to bring about more developments in the club within the shortest possible time.
“There are a lot of developments coming through. In addition to the new club house, we intend to have at least one or two more polo pitches so as not to put too much pressure on the existing one.
“This is something that is going to happen with the collaboration and assistance of the NAPA.
“We are very grateful to Gen. M.S. Aliyu who has been giving the push for the Nigerian Army to really participate fully in the game of polo,” he said.
According to the chairman, there would be other recreational and sporting facilities in the club, such as squash and tennis courts, as well as a playing area for kids and a polo school to teach young players and organise a lot of other grassroots programmes.
“The game of polo requires skill and horsemanship and, therefore, one must have drive and passion to learn the basic rules and rudiments of the sport,” he said.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
-
Business9 hours ago
Customs Impound N2.35bn Cocaine, 15 Trailers of Rice
-
Rivers9 hours ago
MBA Forex Trial Adjourn To June 3, Amid Bereavement … As Court Declines Cost Application
-
Nation4 days agoEducation Commissioner Seeks media Collaboration In Rivers
-
Featured4 hours agoWASSCE: RSG Distributes Science Materials To Secondary Schools
-
Nation4 days agoRSUBE Holds Training For 1,000 New Teachers To Strengthen Basic Education
-
Aviation9 hours ago
Passengers Stranded As Delta Airline From Atlanta Route Back Eight Hours After
-
Politics9 hours ago
2027: Bayelsa Senator Gets Critical Endorsement For Second Term
-
Politics8 hours agoINEC Sets Rivers South-East Senatorial By-Election For June 20