A traditional ruler in Rivers State, Eze Sylvanus Ogbueri has challenged the Organised Private Sector (OPS) to invest in the development of sports in the state.

The royal father who made the call in an interview with The Tide sports at his Umueze Palace in Omuma local government area at the weekend said if fully developed, sports  would compete favourably with oil and gas in terms of economic advantage.

Eze Ogburi who is also a sports philanthropist noted that development of local sports like Water Polo, Swimming and abundant beaches scattered all over the state would help in talent discovery.

He lauded the state government for what he described as harvest of gold at the 17th National Sports Festival hosted by Rivers State. He attributed the feat to the commitment of the state governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi towards the development of sports in the state.

He urged investors to take advantage of the great potentials of sports in the state to develop that sector of the economy.

“It is high time we emulate the western world where billions of Dollars flow in from sports. We should begin to take advantage especially with the keen interest shown by the state government, he emphasised.

Eze Ogbueri decried the lackadaisical attitude of some local government administrations in the state on sports development, stressing that time has come for the third tier of government to look inward on how to develop local talents in sports.

According to him, by doing the youths would be properly engaged thereby reducing youths restiveness in the state.

“How many local government councils in the state have a mini-stadium where local tournaments are played? How many LGAs have well-equipped sports facilities to encourage youths participation in sports”, he queried.

Eze Ogbueri maintained that until governments and private investors see sports as an issue for partnership, the abundant sports talent in the state would not be developed.

Isaac Nwankwo