Philanthropist Tasks Sports Authorities On Local Talents Dev

Sports authorities in Rivers State have been called upon to see the need and effectively work towards developing local talents and uplifting grassroots sports.

Sports philanthropist and retired staff of the state Sports Council, Mr Paul Dum Wifa made the call while speaking with sports writers in Bori.

According to him, the state should hunt for local talent as a way  of injecting fresh blood into the system and ensure  of sports  in the state.

He continued that, while in the service of the sports council, several efforts were made to recruit young  and talented youths in the state. He noted that before the creation of Bayelsa State, Old Rivers State had comparative advantage in the area of swimming, weightlifting, karate, Judo and athletics but regretted that, the reverse seems the case now

Mr. Wifa, who retired from the state sports council in 2004, maintained that Adoni, Opobo/Nkoro and Kalabari’s have abundant potentials in swimming, karate, weightlifting and judo, while their Khana, Gokana, Ahoada and other upland local government were blessed with young sprinters that could do the state proud in any competition.

He attributed most of the problems be drilling our society today to idleness on the part of the youths advising the local governments in the state to invest in sports as a means of empowerment to the Rivers people.

He emphasized that, experts who may have retired from active service should be co-opted into sports development to bring, their wealth of experience to bear in the drive towards achieving the objective of putting the state on top in sports.

Lamenting on the state of infrastructural development, Wifa said that mini stadia and other sporting facilities should be provided and spread across the state and not concentrated only in Port Harcourt , this, according to him, could discourage those in the rural areas.

On the forth coming National Sports Festival  tagged, “Garden City, Games 2010” Wifa called on the state contingent to go all out to do the state proud in order to justify the huge financial and moral commitment of the state Governor, Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi, Amaechi in hosting the event and appealed to Rivers people to pray for them.