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Valleystream British School Wins Zenith Bank Delta Headmasters’ Cup By Owen Akenzua, Asaba
Valleystream British School, Sapele, has emerged winners of the 2021 edition of the Zenith Bank Delta Headmasters’ Football Cup for primary schools in the state.
A total of 497 primary schools participated in the tournament, before the final match played at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba on Thursday.
Valleystream British School clinched the star prize of a school bus and N1million cash, after defeating Ogbe Primary School, Effurun 2-1 with their opponent going home with N750,000.
Earlier before the finals, Destiny Group of Schools, Ughelli beat Royal Foundation School, Ogwashi-Uku on penalties in third place match.
For emerging third place winners, Destiny Group of Schools was awarded cash prize of N500,000 while Royal Foundation School got N300,000.
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa who took the kick-off for the final match, said school sports was a veritable tool to develop children mentally and physically.
He lauded Zenith Bank Plc for sponsoring this year’s edition along with the Principal’s Cup the bank had always sponsored from inception.
According to the governor, school sports is very important for our children as it helps to develop them mentally and physically.
“Beyond developing them physically, it helps to pick out talents in their young age and I must appreciate the coaches and headmasters, teachers and the organisers for making this year’s edition colourful.
“We will keep faith with our initial intentions to catch them young because we have seen beautiful display of football in this tournament.
“As a state, we have done very well in various sporting competitions in the country and we will continue to pay critical attention to sports development in the years ahead,” he said.
The governor stressed that henceforth all schools in the state must endeavour to register to participate in subsequent editions to give their pupils opportunity to showcase their talents.
“Henceforth, it is important that all schools should register for the competition from next edition and we may sanction schools who failed to register for participation.
“I must thank Zenith Bank Plc for sponsoring the 3rd edition of the tournament alongside their sponsorship of the Principals’ Cup.
“The star prize for the winners which is a school bus is here and I must congratulate Valleystream British School, Sapele for emerging winners of this year’s edition.
“Let me use this opportunity to thank Deltans for their support for my administration as we value their friendship and commitment even as we work towards offering our best for the good of the people within available resources,” he stated.
Zenith Bank Managing Director, Mr Ebenezer Onyeagwu, said the bank was glad to have sponsored the competition in line with its corporate social responsibility.
Represented by the Delta Zonal Head Delta, Mr Lucky Ighade, the Zenith Bank boss said the bank would continue to sponsor both competitions in the foreseeable future.
Commissioner for Primary Education, Chika Ossai in his welcome remarks, said the competition which was at its 3rd edition was meant to scout for talented children in football and nurture them as they develop both academically and physically in a world where the vices of cultism and drug abuse have taken deep root amongst younger generations.
“All over the world, grassroot sports have proven to be the most effective tool in fostering discipline, focus and team spirit amongst children and youth of all ages,” he stated.
Featured
Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold
Joel Ajayi
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.
The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.
Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.
According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.
“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.
“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”
The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.
Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.
“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.
Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.
Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.
He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.
Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.
He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.
To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.
In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization
Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.
Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.
“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.
In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee
is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.
The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
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