Sports
Wike’s Aide Harps On Sports Dev
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
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.
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