- Hails Gov. AbdulRazaq’s Governance Ingenuity
- Hosts Promise Full Support
- Say Sports, Unifying Tool
- Laud Committee’s Selfless Service
As the 7th Kwara State Sports Festival “2020” is approaching, the members of the Main Organising Committee today were on courtesy visits to the offices of the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Mamman Saba Jibril, Head of Service, Mrs. Susan Modupe Oluwole, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, today to seek the cooperation of their hosts to have a befitting and successful festival.
The visitations led by the Vice-Chairman, who is also the Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee, Alhaji Ahmed Adio, were to express the ingenuity in governance and devotion of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to the Sports development, to communicate to their hosts the philosophy behind the festival and brief them on the areas they wanted the offices to intervene which cut across accommodation for athletes and officials, transportation and other necessities, knowing fully that their hosts are major actors in the State’s policy implementation, this, they think will immensely help in achieving the objectives of the festival.
The Secretary to the State Government, Professor Mamman Saba Jibril, expressed his elation and described the festival as a medium for stimulating and strengthening friendship and unity among the athletes of heterogeneously ethnic and religious backgrounds, stating that such circumstance will tremendously bring out the beauty of Kwara as a “State of Harmony”.
He then pledged his sheer support for the Committee, saying it is a Clarion’s call that must not be avoided.
While receiving the members of the Committee, the Head of Service, Mrs. Susan Modupe Oluwole, tasked both indigenes and residents in the State to always think of how to move the State forward, saying that everyone has a role to play to ensure that things go well in the State.
Thanking the present Administration for investing in sports and the other sectors, she lauded the members of the Committee for being excited in taking up a selfless service, observing that sports and youths are inseparable.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Human Capital Development and Technology, Hajia Mariam Ayodeji Garba, identified the significance of exercise to the body and urged governments at various levels, corporate bodies and individuals to cultivate the spirit of investing in education and sports both in cash and kind, affirming that this will enable the project of building the youths for the development of society.
She also indicated her cooperation with the Committee as regards the festival.
Another point of the visitations was the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, where the Permanent Secretary, Doctor Adesola Ezekiel Afolabi, assured the Committee of the support of the Ministry and the DPMs in all the sixteen LGAs across the State, and vowed to be instrumental in the realisation of the goals of the festival by making things work appropriately from his own end.
At every point of the courtesy visits, the Committee’s Vice-Chairnan, Alhaji Ahmed Adio, pinpointed that the youths have to be taken care of now with productive activities to prevent them from constituting menace to their various communities, saying that this is part of why the Administration of Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is keyed to rejuvenating sports.
He noted that this festival is meant for new faces that will be nurtured to stardom not veterans.
In his words, the Director, Kwara State Sports Council, who is also a member of the Main Organising Committee, Coach Tunde Kazeem, intimated the hosts that this edition of the festival is taking a new dimension as it will be flavoured with different interesting activities.
He then prayed God to give the hosts wisdom, good health and understanding to drive the process.
Other members of the team included the Director, Personnel, Finance and Supply, Alhaja Afusat Afolabi, the Director, Sports Development, Alhaji Olusola Abubakar Sheu, Directorate of Sports, University of Ilorin, Professor (Mrs.) Dominic, Director, Local Government (Ministry of Local Govt and Chieftaincy Affairs), Alhaji Razaq Olorunmako, Deputy-Director, Sports Development, Mallam Ibrahim Bako, Head of Coaching, Training and Research, Coach Alarape Ibrahim Atanda, and journalists from various media houses across the State.
Later in the day, the Committee met with the Chairmen of the various sports associations in the State at the Conference Room of the Kwara State Stadium Complex, where they were briefed on the responsibilities before them to make the festival a success.
