Sports

Logistics Hindered Benue’s Participation in Parade – Delegation Officer

Published

2 weeks ago

May 20, 2025

…Reiterates Government Support for Sports Development

By Joel Ajayi

The Desk Officer of the Benue State delegation at the ongoing 22nd National Sports Festival (NSF), Tse Cephas Tarbwe, has attributed the state’s absence from the match-past parade to logistical challenges.

It will be recalled that during the match-past on Sunday, Benue State was notably absent — a development that drew the attention of stakeholders and observers.

Addressing journalists on Tuesday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Mr. Tarbwe described the situation as a case of force majeure — an unforeseen circumstance that can affect any team.

“In sports, we all understand that force majeure can occur at any time,” he explained. “We began our journey as planned, and even deployed an advance team to participate in the parade. However, upon arrival, unexpected challenges emerged, forcing us to prioritize other urgent matters.”

He added, “It’s a long journey from Benue to Abeokuta. I was present here as well, but due to the situation, I had to remain outside. We simply had to focus on what was most important at the moment.”

Speaking on the efforts of the Benue State Government under the leadership of Governor Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia, Mr. Tarbwe reiterated the administration’s commitment to revamping sports infrastructure and promoting talent development.

“Since Governor Alia assumed office, we’ve adopted a holistic approach to sports development. Many of our facilities were in a state of disrepair, but contractors are currently rehabilitating them. The governor believes in building a solid foundation by first restoring infrastructure before expanding to other areas,” he said.

“For instance, in track and field, we brought only a few athletes due to the current lack of adequate facilities. But today, some of them have already begun warming up on this track — and that shows progress.”

Mr. Tarbwe emphasized that despite missing the parade, Benue State is fully participating in the Gateway Games, with a delegation of over 243 athletes and officials.

He expressed optimism that the state would give its best performance and make a strong showing in its areas of strength.

Share on Facebook

Sports

A Triumphant Close to the 22nd National Sports Festival

Published

4 days ago

May 29, 2025

The Gleamer

…As organisers promise another spectacle at closing ceremony on Thursday

Joel Ajayi

After 11 days of a true showcase of sporting competition in multiple Sports by some of the country’s top and even promising athletes, the curtain will finally be drawn on what many have described as one of the best ever organised National Sports festivals, when the closing ceremony is held on Thursday at the MKO Sports Arena in Abeokuta.

Whilst the quality of the Games’ opening ceremony is still getting tongues wagging, the entire sporting family and beyond is now anxiously looking forward to what the closing ceremony will look like.

The last 11 days have showcased Ogun state as a true Sporting hub with potential to even do more, with the quality of the facilities built for the games and the enthusiasm of the people who made the various venues their second home in the last few days.

A big testament to this was the history-making crowd that attended the male football final between Ogun state and Kwara State, which the host won by 4-1.

The MKO stadium was filled to full capacity while the crowd outside watching from the big screen reminds one of how much Sports is truly the soul of our togetherness as a country.

From the Alake Sports centre in Ijeja and the Baptist boys high school, to the Obafemi Awolowo square and the Remo stadium both in Ikenne, to the NYSC orientation camp in Shagamu, and the Ilisan town hall in Ilisan, the festival never lacked spectatorship throughout the games.

The Games actually lived up to the pre-tournament hype as both the National Sports Commission, NSC and the Ogun state Government pulled out every administrative capacity to ensure both athletes, officials and the media have an unforgettable experience.

The Gateway Games 2024 had been full of exciting drama and intrigues amongst the states and athletes which led to different new records being set and some old records being shattered.

The festival has also produced for the country some new exciting young talents especially with the shocking performance of the 38th state, the Invited Junior Athletes ( IJA), where they ended up winning some surprised medals to justify the Commission’s establishment of the initiative.

As the Closing ceremony holds on Thursday, the leadership of the National Sports commission, NSC, expresses its profound gratitude to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Ogun State Government for making sure millions of Nigerian youths see a renewed brighter future in the country through the National Sports Festival.
The NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dilko said ” our overwhelming gratitude goes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,GCFR, for his personal commitment to the development of Nigerian Sports by giving us every support financially and otherwise for the success of this festival”.

” And the Ogun state Governor, Dapo Abiodun also deserves a huge praise for the feat we all recorded with these games. I can’t thank him enough and posterity will surely remember him for good “.

The NSC Director General who is also the Chairman of the Main organising committee of the games, Hon Bukola Olopade also extended his gratitude to all the technocrats behind the scene that are responsible for the successful organisation of the games.

” From all the members of the Main organising committee to the various sub committees, to members of the local organising committees and all our technical officials in the various sports to the media and our athletes, every success that everyone is talking about concerning these Games belongs to you all”.

” Yes it was not a perfect festival because we acknowledged we had also some challenges but let me assure everyone that some of the challenges are already being worked upon ahead of the next Games holding in Enugu state next year”, he concluded.

The Closing ceremony is expected to bring together top Government functionaries to captain of industries while there will also be the rich cultural display of the state as Ogun state will officially pass the barton of hosting to Enugu state for the 23rd edition of the Games come September 2026.

Share on Facebook