Niger Delta Games: Team Bayelsa, in Benin City to Compete, says Igali
Bayelsa State Commissioner For Sports Development, Hon. Daniel Igali says the state athletes are in Benin City compete for the top positt at the ongoing 2nd Niger Delta Games.
Igali who stated this in an interview with journalists at at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, however acknowledged that the contest for the overall winners at the fiesta would be fierce and stiff.
‘For the past 3 National Sport Festivals, we have been in the top three, winning the third and second positions twice though in the last edition they said we were third, we believe we were second.
“So we can’t be considered as pushovers. Bayelsa is among the top sporting States in the country. As for the Niger Delta Games, we won the first edition, and this second edition is different. The last one was a senior Festival for age 25 and under, now it’s 20 and under so we are now talking about junior athletes.
“Whoever wins here will be winning it for the first time. The one we won, no team can win it again so we are standing on a pedestal no team can stand. But we are here to compete and we believe that we will be one of the top teams here.
“Across board, we feel that we have assembled a good team, we have a good youth discovery network and there will be very vigorous competition but Bayelsa will be among the top contenders’, he declared.
On why Bayelsa have in the last few years emerged as one of the frontline States in the Niger Delta and the entire country, he explained that the secret of the success story is due to the support of Governor Douye Diri.
‘Over the past few years especially with the coming of the present Governor, Senator Douye Diri, there has been a new thrust, push and vision because being a former Commissioner for Sport himself when Bayelsa achieved its first highest position in the medals table at the National Sports Festival in 2006 in Abeokuta, he knows what it takes to develop sports
“So he has come with renewed vigour as funding and everything has improved. So when you now see Bayelsa contesting to be the number one sporting destination in the country, it should not surprise anyone because of the approvals of His Excellency’, he stressed.
He remarked that Governor Diri as part of his efforts at further development of sports in the state, is building two new stadiums including a 30,000 sitting capacity brand new facility at Igbogene, Yenagoa and another 15,000 sized stadium in Sampou in Kolokuma-Opokuma ocal Government Area to prepare grounds for Bayelsa to host the 2028 National Sports Festival.
According to him, this is to bequeath to Governor Diri’s successor, a hundred percent sporting facility which would make Bayelsa continuously relevant.
He stated that this would give athletes in the State and beyond the conducive environment to train and make a mark in national and global competitions.
