Edo 2020: Egbe dismisses talk of Bayelsa fielding a foreigner

Photo: Bayelsa’s swimming sensation, Ifiezibe Gagbe who won 8 gold medals in the swimming events. Egbe has pledged to reward her with N.5m for doing the state proud.

Chief Executive Officer of Monimichelle, Ebi Egbe has come out to defend Bayelsa’s fine run in the Edo 2020 National Sports Festival declaring that it is a fall out of proper planning on the part of the state government.

Egbe was quick to add that it is unfortunate that some enemies of the state are out to discredit the state’s performance with the unsubstantiated story of Bayelsa fielding a Kenyan runner.

“I know Bayelsa would not go against the rules of the festival with somebody like Daniel Igali in charge of the state’s sports. Igali is one of the nation’s foremost Sports Ambassador and he has seen it all at the global level. He is an Olympic gold medalist so for anybody to say Bayelsa cheated at the games is nothing but a blackmail. Bayelsa is performing well in Edo because Gov Diri has put the right person in charge of sports. Ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Bayelsa has also given a lot of support to some of the athletes Nigeria would be banking on for medals. If Nigeria performs well in Tokyo, the story won’t be complete without mention being made of Bayelsa,” Egbe said.

Egbe stressed that those accusing the state of fielding a Kenyan runner are making the allegation without any shred of evidence, even as he wondered how an athlete from Southern Ijaw has become a Kenyan.

It would be noted that Bayelsa with 55 gold, 55 silver and 57 bronze medals look good to finish third on the final medals table behind Delta and host Edo state who are first and second respectively on the log.