By Godwin Chukwumaechi, Port Harcourt
In a bid to boost human capital development in the Niger Delta region, especially through sports development, the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is set to organise the maiden edition of the Niger Delta Sports Festival.
The multi-sports festival, which is being planned for the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, will kick off the activities marking the 25th anniversary of the NDDC.
The event will be held between April 1 and 9, 2025, aligning with Nigeria’s new vision for sports development and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mandate to foster talent development and innovation in sports.
A statement signed by Seledi Thompson-Wakama, Director, Corporate Affairs of the NDDC reads; “Through the sports festival, we will bring together thousands of young athletes from the nine states of the Niger Delta region and allow them to showcase their talents.
“We are organising Olympic-style games featuring over ten sports for the nine NDDC mandate states. We understand the power of sports in transforming society, and as a key stakeholder in the Nigeria project, we want to contribute our quota to sports development in the country. We have also recognised and understood Mr President’s zeal and passion for the sector’s revival. As an intervention agency, we must partner with the region’s state governments to develop sports”.
The statement added; “In initiating the Niger Delta Sports Festival, our objective is to support the states in the discovery of sports talents, grooming them into national and international elite athletes, nurturing them to attain gainful professional careers in sports, for self-reliance and economic independence.
“The sports festival also aims to strengthen penetration and access to sports at the grassroots, reinvigorate and sustain the region’s competitiveness, supremacy, and influence in Nigerian sports, and use sports to enhance more significant interaction, unity, friendship, and security across the region.
“We have adequately prepared for this sporting event with our Project Consultant, Dunamis Icon Limited, and we are pleased to announce to the public that we are about to birth the Niger Delta Sports Festival.
“In the coming weeks, there shall be a flurry of activities to herald the sports festival, intended as a celebration of the sporting prowess of the Nigper Delta, which has produced and will, by our partnership with our people, continue to be the pathfinder and hub of Nigerian sports”.
