Sports
CRS Lauds Sports Commission, Pledges Support
Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River has lauded the efforts of the State’s Sports Commission to develop sports in the state.
Ayade said the state government would appreciate this wonderful gesture.
The governor gave the assurance in Calabar on Sunday at the finals of the male Under 15 football tournament for schools across the state organised in his honour by the commission at the U.J. Esuene Stadium.
Ayade, said his administration was excited by the injection of fresh approach to sports promotion and development by the commission.
Represented by his Special Adviser, Public Affairs, Tony Undiandeye, the governor commended the Orok Duke-led Commission for “using soccer to identify and groom talents at the grassroots through schools’’.
He said: “Efforts of the Sports Commission has been appreciated. The commission is doing a lot to uplift sports in Cross River.
“There are projects they (Sports Commission) are undertaking and I am excited about what they are doing right now.
“Overall, you see that there is an injection of new approach to sports promotion and development, using sports, soccer to identify and groom talents at the grassroots through schools at that level.
“We believe that when these children get back, having been here to see the facilities, a greater zeal in them to prevail will endure.
“We hope that the state government will continue to encourage what they are doing within available resources. The commission is doing well, they should be encouraged and supported,’’ the governor said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Commission, Duke, said the commission was poised to leave a legacy during his tenure.
Duke said that the tournament was organised across the three senatorial districts of the state in honour of Ayade for reactivating the commission with a mandate to re-position sports in the state.
“This tournament is a grassroots programme to encourage him to do more. We intend to capture these athletes and talents across the state and harness their immense potentials at different levels.
“We are hoping and praying that in spite of the limited resources and facilities at our disposal, we will recreate a lot in sports across the state. There is going to be no dull moments here,’’ Duke said.
He also appealed to the state government to set aside a percentage of the sports levies paid directly by students in public schools to be retained by those schools for the development of facilities.
“The commission has sports officers in all the local government areas of the state. The idea is to take sports to these people.’’ Duke said.
According to the chairman, the commission has since December 2016 incorporated the Ben Ayade United Football club, Calabar and the Canaan City Table Tennis Club.
“The Canaan City Table Tennis Club will be participating in an international tournament starting from May this year.
“We are planning a female football competition for secondary schools. We currently encourage the Pelican Stars FC to mentor female footballers by training with lots of female students,’’ he said.
Secondary School Igbeku, Yala won the first position in the maiden edition of the tournament by defeating Akim Secondary School, Calabar 2-0.
The sudden departure of Nwachukwu, a multiple gold medallist, from Team Delta to the Coal City, Enugu , sparked controversy within the sports family, with officials of Delta State Sports Commission accusing the president of the Paralympic Committee of Nigeria, Sunday Odebode, of manipulating the system for the athlete to dump the state.
But Nwachukwu, who broke the World Record to win a gold medal for Team Nigeria in the Women’s Discus F42 event at the just-concluded Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, has cleared the air on the circumstances that led to her movement to Enugu State.
Speaking with The Tidesports source report, shortly after winning the gold medal, Nwachukwu said: “It is not true that anybody aided my movement from Delta State to Enugu. Rather, it was Delta State that forced me to leave because of poor remuneration.