Sports

Participants took lead reading oath at NOGIG opening ceremony

Published

1 year ago

April 22, 2024

Games

The much waited 2024 Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Games (NOGIG) kick off on Sunday with team Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), turning out in glamour, pomp at the opening ceremony of the games in Abuja.

This year NOGIG theme for the 2024 game is, ‘Empower Wellness, Ignite Productivity officially kicks off with colorful opening ceremony, team NNPCL impresses.

At the end of the march past by the 13 companies to be represented by about 1500 participants,the Vice Chairman of Chevron,Mr Chido Okoli declared the games open to a very loud applause.

“ The aim is to promote healthy workforce that will be productive at all times and give its best to its employer,

“ Let go out and compete and have fun and most especially do it safely.

“ We appreciate all the organizers, companies,the executives that made it here today and want to encourage all to enjoy and would be expecting all on Saturday for the closing ceremony , ” he said.

On his part,Olutayo Akande, the Head of Technical Committee said that this year is different from the past editions.

“ This is the first time of taking the athletes oaths.I will recite and athletes recite after me.

“ The oaths “ At the 19th editions of NOGIG,I pledged to take part in the sporting events; respectful and abiding by the rules that governing them.

“In the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the honor of our industries ,while empowering wellness and igniting productivity. So help me God.”

He said that the reasons for the oaths is because we needed every individual participant to commit to what we want them to be this time around.

“ Yes, there are medals but we don’t want participant doing beyond just participating in getting the medals. We will play fair and get our medals cleanly,” he said.

On her part, Senior Human Resources Manager for Policy and Employee, Seplat Energy ,Obiageli Ezeoke , said that the game should continue to progress , more companies to come up to participates and increase the numbers of games.

The reports that the companies taking part in the games include; NNPCL, Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

Others are; Nigeria Liquified National Gas (NLNG) the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB),Nigerian Downstream and Midstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Total Energies, Aradel, Seplat Energy and Oando.

The 13 games include; football, Badminton,basketball , volleyball, golf, tennis, table-tennis, squash, athletics, swimming, chess, 8-ball pool and scrabble.

The reports that the events which started on Sunday ( today) and end on April 27 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.

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Sports

Onikeku Re-elected to Represent Military and Paramilitary on AFN Board

Published

1 hour ago

June 6, 2025

The Gleamer

By Joel Ajayi

Renowned athletics administrator and Sports Secretary of the Nigeria Customs Service, Samuel Onikeku, has been re-elected as the Military and Paramilitary Representative on the board of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).

The election, held at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, brought together key stakeholders from Nigeria’s military and paramilitary sporting units.

Onikeku, who served as Technical Director on the outgoing AFN board and previously held the same representative position, was returned unopposed — a clear endorsement of his leadership and unwavering commitment to the development of athletics within the armed services and beyond..

Speaking shortly after his re-election on Thursday, Onikeku expressed gratitude to his colleagues for the renewed mandate, promising to continue championing the interests of military and paramilitary athletes within the AFN framework.“I am honored by this re-election and deeply appreciate the confidence reposed in me. My focus will remain on fostering discipline, excellence, and opportunity for athletes across all services, while strengthening synergy with the civilian athletics community,” he stated.

Onikeku, who also serves as the Sports Secretary of the Nigeria Customs Service, has been instrumental in discovering and nurturing top talent from military and paramilitary institutions to represent Nigeria at national and international competitions.

His leadership is credited with improving coordination between the Nigeria Customs Service, other sports units, and the AFN, while also driving initiatives aimed at identifying and grooming young athletes from security formations.

The AFN board, which includes representatives from various zones, stakeholders, and institutional blocs, plays a key role in shaping the strategic direction of track and field sports in Nigeria. With his re-election, Onikeku is expected to continue leveraging his experience, discipline, and structured leadership to further reposition athletics as a vital pillar of Nigeria’s sporting success.

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