Uzodimma has not scrapped Imo Sports Commission -Ekeji

By George Aluo

Imo State government may not have scrapped the Imo State Sports Commission despite naming a sports commissioner, if signals coming out of government house, Owerri are anything to go by.

Hint to this effect was dropped yesterday by Governor Hope Uzodimma’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Dr (Sir) Patrick Ekeji in a chat with newstap.com.ng.

Ekeji stated…”the governor has not jettisoned the sports commission. He has not. If the Heartland Interim Management Committee has intra-management issues, it has nothing to do with the status of the Imo State Sports Commission.”

It would be noted that Gov Hope Uzodimma had after assuming office sacked the board of the Imo sports commission that was set up by Gov Emeka Ihedioha with Chief Fan Ndubuoke, a veteran sports journalist as chairman.

Uzodimma had thereafter set up a committee to fine tune the laws establishing the sports commission. The committee was headed by Sir Ekeji who is now Uzodimma’s deputy chief of staff.

Interestingly, months after getting the report of the Ekeji led committee, the governor rather than accepting or rejecting the recommendations of the committee went ahead to name a Sports Commissioner an indication that Imo is back to the Sports ministry era at a time when other states were embracing the Sports Commission model.

It would be noted that leading sporting states like Lagos, Delta and Edo have all established a sports commission.

It is not yet clear if Imo would now have a Sports Commission alongside a Sports ministry or if the governor would at the end of the day order the incumbent Sports commissioner to hands off sports when the sports commission is up and running.