One of the major objectives for creating the Niger Delta Games (NDG) is to assist the region groom young athletes into future champions.
At the unveiling of the second season of the Games to the media in Lagos on Wednesday, the Managing Director of Dunamis Icon Limited, project consultants, Sir Itiako Ikpokpo said: ‘NDG is a sports intervention project of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to help the region. The region needs regular competitions to develop their athletes, and the NDDC has provided one of such competitions’.
He challenged the states in the region to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the NDDC through the games to harness the talents that have been discovered.
‘The states of the Niger Delta have a duty to harness those talents identified at the games. On our part, we have identified over 600 athletes with potentials and it is left for them to work to help the athletes realise their full potentials’, declared Ikpokpo, who chairs the Board of the Delta State Athletics Association.
According to the games Lead Consultant, each of the nine states that are members of the NDDC would present 270 athletes for the 17 games that are to be competed for.
Ikpokpo echoed earlier pronouncement of the Chairman of the Main Organising Committee, Alabo Boma Iyaye, and assured the media, the participating states and the national sports family, that the 2nd Niger Delta Games would be more impactful than the first edition.
‘Uyo has been acclaimed as successful, but I must admit that it was not perfect. We are going to build on the successes and deliver a more efficient second edition’, he promised.
He would go on to disclose that the times and dates for the games that will be held in Benin, Edo State have already been made.
Ikpokpo attended the event with some members of his team including Fred Edoreh, the Project Director, Harry Iwuala, the Chairman of Communications and publicity, Edi Lawani, the Chairman of Culture and Entertainment, Godwin Enakhena, the Chairman of the Scouting team and Onome Obrhute, Chairman of the Accommodation and Logistics.
