The Special Adviser to Rivers State Governor on Schools Sports, Aribitonye Okiri, has called on authorities in the state, especially, Local Government Chairmen, to invest more and pay priority attention to sports and athletes development to ensure that the state benefits from the opportunities prevalent in the sports sector.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of Ahoada East Local Government Chairman’s Football Cup Competition, recently in Ahoada, Okiri said that if the LGAs and the state must grow, they need to grow sports. “Sports is indispensable and we need to bring out policy programmes that will engage the youths. We can use the power of sports to reduce crime in the society, create employment and a platform for the youths to channel their energy positively’, he said.
According to him, “All of us must not make it through academics, sports is a veritable tool and we must invest in it”. He lauded the developmental strides of the Ahoada East Local Government Chairman, Barr Ben Ekeh, who he described as the best and performing Local Government Chairman in the state. He said that the chairman has been wonderful by creating programmes that impact on the youths and grassroots in his area, especially, sports programmes and competitions that have thrown up talents in many events.
“You can see that every quarter the Chairman stages one event or the other, we need to commend him on his role in promoting sports in the area’, said Okiri. Only recently, a product of one of the chairman’s programmes in sports, Fabian Braide Chukwu won silver medal for Rivers state at the recently concluded 21st National Sports Festival, Asaba 2022 in Greco-Roman wrestling, 135kg to add to the state’s overall medal haul.
“Imagine what it’ll be like if all our LGAs invest in sports and like Ahoada East produce a national medalist for the state, it will be rewarding for everyone if all hands should be on deck to contribute meaningfully to making Rivers state the hub of sports in Nigeria”, the SA submitted.
He went further to challenge Barr Ekeh to try to bequeath at least a mini stadium to the area as one of his legacies before leaving office because, according to him, in sports, a lot of things go on simultaneously, including physical, social, competitive interactions and development, which would combine to produce virile and balanced individuals for the society.

By: Gabriel Nwanetanya