A stalwart of the Peoples Democratic Party in Delta State, Dr. Henry Ofa has commended Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for paying optimum attention to sports and youth development in the State.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Oghara, Ethiope West Local Government Area of the State, Ofa identified the physical presence of the governor at the final match of the Chief James Ibori Under-19 competition and the ongoing infrastructural project in the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba as some of the indications that Okowa was a lover of sports and youth.
"Governor Okowa has consistently established his interest in youth and sports development. The ongoing massive infrastructural project at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in preparation for the 2018 African Athletics Competition holding in Asaba clearly show his readiness to consolidate on the achievement of Delta State in the sporting world", he said.
Ofa, an ardent lover of sports, also hailed the Sports and Youths Development Academy (SYDA) for successfully organizing the maiden edition of the Chief James Ibori Under-19 Football Competition which was won by the Oghara Team.
He noted that the successful completion of the competition on March 31st showed that the leadership of the SYDA could be trusted with great responsibilities in the sporting world.
According to him, the competition was a right step at immortalizing the name of former Governor James Ibori who, he said, made spirited efforts to develop all sectors of the oil rich state and place it on the path of sustainable growth.
The statement read in part: “Everyone who followed up with the activities of the competition would admit that it had the desideratum of conviviality, peace and friendship which are some of the major forces that have bound us together as a state.
“No doubt, the competition was one of the many efforts at casting the good name of Chief James Ibori on the beautiful marble of history and ensuring that his good works, especially in sports development, are forever remembered by the present generation and posterity.
“I sincerely commend the SYDA for bestowing such a well deserved honour on our leader who has shown a true sense of sportsmanship at all times and in all situations. I honestly wish that the competition will be continuous so that good talents can be discovered and developed for national and international challenges”.
Ofa, who was visibly at the fore front of mobilizing support for the Oghara Team that won the final competition, also thanked the players and technical crew of the various teams for embracing peace and right demeanor throughout the contest and applauded them for shunning the lure of age cheat which, according to him, is posing a serious challenge to the round leather game.
He saluted "the head coach of the Team, Raymond Ofa for instilling the desired discipline among the players and the team play maker, Fortune Ofa who scored a brace to seal the final victory for the Oghara stars".
The PDP Chieftain also commended his kinsmen for providing financial and logistics support to the Oghara Team, noting that the gesture motivated the young stars to victory over their Ndokwa East opponents in the final clash witnessed by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and ex-governor James Ibori at the Oghara Township Stadium.
“While we continue to bask in the euphoria of the victory won by our boys, I wish to commend the altruism of Chief William Makinde, Deacon Moses Ogbe, Hon. Solomon Golley, Prince Charles Abutor; Dr. Onome Ogueh, Philo Ededey, Hon. Ejiro Etacheruren, Joy Udele and others who provided financial support to the team.
“I also wish to commend Godwin Akpodonor, Kparobor Egwubare and Joshua Erubami who took it upon themselves to give the competition a wide publicity. Those who supported the Oghara Team in prayers and cheered them up to victory are also well appreciated. There is power in unity, thus we should always be united to achieve our goals”, Ofa added in the statement.
0 Comments