Chairman, Warri South Local Government Area, Dr Micheal Tidi has promised to continue to support the annual Warri/Effurun Peace Marathon Race which is being organized by Mrs. Joyce Bozimo.
Dr Tidi made this promise in Warri on Tuesday, October 30, 2018 during the unveiling of the 2019 logo of the Warri/Effurun Peace Marathon Race.
The Warri South Chairman, who commended Mrs Bozimo for organizing the marathon, said, like other chairmen before him, his administration will continue to encourage both private and public individuals who have been working tirelessly to ensure that the peace being experienced in Warri and Effurun is sustained.
He said, “What Mrs Bozimo is doing with the Warri Effurun Peace Marathon Race has shown her love for the people of Warri and environs. This has gone to show that peace can be deepened in Warri in particular and the state in general.
“This event has also shown that we have all agreed to live in peace with one another and it has also shown that the peace we are enjoying today has been as a result of efforts of different individuals who have contributed their quota to ensuring that the peace we have today is sustained.
“We will continue to support and collaborate with the organizers of this event to ensure that it is sustained. We have been doing this and we will continue to support the third edition of the Warri Effurun Peace Marathon Race come 2019.”
Unveiling the 2019 Warri/Effurun Peace Mararthon Race logo at BB Hotel, Warri, Nigerian former track and field athlete, Mrs Falilat Ogunkoya, commended the effort of Mrs Joyce Bozimo for organizing the yearly event, noting that the event has brought relative peace to Warri and Environs.
Mrs. Ogunkoya who has won a number of national championships, including a gold medal in 1996 in the 400 metres, gold in the 200 metres and 400 m in 1998, and gold again in 1999 and 2001 in the 400 metres, said hopefully the Warri Effurun Peace Marathon Race would become an International event in the nearest future.
Mrs. Ogunkoya, who is also the Ambassador of the Warri/Effurun Peace Marathon Race, noted that the marathon was good for the well-being of the country as it has helped to promote peace amongst all the ethnic groups in Warri.
She said, “The Warri/Effurun Peace Marathon Race is good for the state and the country because we all know that sports is the only thing that unite our people together. Sports does not recognize ethnicity or race. Whenever any sport event is taking place, Nigerians are always united as one indivisible entity.”
Earlier, Mrs Joyce Bozimo in her welcome addresse said the reason why she decided to start the marathon event in Warri and Effurun was to bring back the lost glory of Warri and environs, adding that since the Warri crisis all the people in Warri and environs have been divided.
She said the aim of the Marathon was to restore peace to Warri and environs by bringing the youths together to compete in a friendly environment that is devoid of political, ethnic or religious affiliation.
“We want the youths to come together as one. This Marathon since its inception in 2016 has been able to bring our youths together. It has helped in bringing relative peace to Warri and environs because people who participated in the events are from different ethnic backgrounds.
“We want Warri to go back to its lost glory when we were all living together as brothers and sisters. In those days, we did not know which ethnic group our neighbors came from. We were all living together in peace and harmony.
“The Warri/Effurun Peace Marathon Race has also being used as a platform to discovering new talents. There was a young girl who came second in the 2016 edition of the Warri Effurun Peace Marathon Race who has a gold medal today in Youth Athletics Championship. This is a great feat.”
“The Warri/Effurun Peace Marathon Race is not a political party. It is not a religious thing. What we want to do is to ensure that everyone lives in peace and harmony.
“Warri was a very vibrant place with a lot of companies. But because of the crisis almost all the companies have left. But today, we want to bring back all the companies that have left Warri and Effurun so that Warri will be great again,” Mrs Bozimo said.
