The Governor of Kwara State, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq represented by his Deputy, Mr Kayode Alabi while declaring the sixth edition of the National Youth Games open said that to ya the National Youth Games had put the state in a good stead in sports development.
He stressed that the state was proud to have hosted the rest of Nigeria in the last six years and was willing to use the games as a yardstick to developing the states sports sector.
The Minister for Youth and Sports Development said the organisation of the National Youth Games annually has afforded the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development to achieve it’s mandate of creating a pool of potential athletes that can continuously represent Nigeria at international youth games as well as becoming future stars.
The Minister for Youth and Sports Development Chief Sunday Dare represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mallam Ismaila Abubakar said that the games had consistently served as an effective platform for talent identification and development of future stars in sports, while also creating a level playing field for the athletes to showcase their talents to the world.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mallam Ismaila Abubakar said the National Youth Games which was conceived in 2013 has continued to serve it’s core objectives of a building a robust grassroots talent pool for the country as well as enhancing sports development in Nigeria.
The Vice Chancellor University of Ilorin Professor Sulyman Age Abdulkareem represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor Administration, Professor Sylvia Malomo while thanking the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and indeed the Federal Government for giving University of Ilorin the opportunity to host the National Youth Games in the last five years said the games had helped the institution become the sports hub in Nigeria Tertiary education sector.
Professor Abdulkareem however appealed to the Federal Government through the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development to assist the institution in expanding it’s facilities towards becoming a leading sports institution in Africa.
The opening ceremony featured march past by the thirty six states and the FCT with the Contingents decked in beautiful attires and sports wear with defending champions presenting the trophy to the Minister.
Jude Agbeyeke.
