His Excellency, Senator Lawrence Ewurujakpo, Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, has called for early preparation for games in Nigeria. He stated this at the opening ceremony of the Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) in Yenagoa the state capital.
Ewrujakpo thanked the leadership of the NOC for all their efforts at sports development and said the cardinal points of Bayelsa State sports development was working on the areas of strength of their athletes.
"We are happy to welcome all our distinguished guests to Bayelsa State for the AGM. The current President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee was elected here some twenty years ago and we are glad the Olympic family is back to town for its AGM. Like you all know, we capitalise on our area of strength which are Wrestling, Boxing and Swimming and the result is there for everybody to see. Also, we must make it a point of duty to talk less and start early preparations in earnest for every games we participate in to achieve our desired goals."
The Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare who was represented by Mallam Ismaila Abubakar, Permanent Secretary, said the ministry was solidly behind the sports federations and that they will always support all their programmes. Mallam Abubakar reaffirmed the ministry's partnership and support for the NOC as they discharge their duties.
In his welcome address, Engineer Habu Ahmed Gumel, President, Nigeria Olympic Committee, thanked the Miracle Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri for hosting all the sports stakeholders in his state. He also extended appreciations to the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare for his support to the NOC and for the development of sports in Nigeria.
Gumel said the year 2020 was particularly a challenging one indeed, not only for sports but for humanity in general, especially with the sudden outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, which is still ravaging most nations of the world.
"We are therefore grateful to the Almighty God for preserving our lives. There is no doubt
that the Olympic Movement emerged from the trying period of the pandemic even stronger, especially with the eventual staging of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in year 2021.
The President further reminded the new boards of the National Federations, especially those who are yet to have their Constitution/Statutes ratified by their various Congresses and International Federations that the time to restart that process is now. All National Federations must have valid Constitutions, approved by their Congresses and endorsed by their respective International Federations as this is in line with international best practices in sports.
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