OKOWA ATTRIBUTES DELTA’S SPORTS PROWESS TO OGBEMUDIA’S INITIATIVE SEED
OGHENETEJIRI NYERHOVWO
Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor of Delta State has attributed the
sterling prowess of the state in sports to the initiative of late Samuel
Ogbemudia as military governor of defunct Bendel State.
The governor stated this at the final of the 4th edition of the Zenith Bank Delta Principal’s Cup Football Competition at the Stephen Keshi Staduim, Asaba, he said that Dr. Ogbemudia pioneered the concept of
catching athletes young and developed it through regular
competitions among the young people and their schools.
The governor, who commended Zenith Bank Plc for sustained sponsorship of the tournament said,”it is gladdening to note that we have kept hope alive and partnering Zenith Bank, this competition has entered its fourth edition for which I must truly pay tribute to the management of Zenith Bank Plc for consistently funding the competition.
Dr. Okowa added, “we started it four years ago and it is a beautiful thing that most schools are participating in the tournament; we have progressed as we have the Headmaster’s Cup and the and others involving various categories of athletes.”
The Governor spoke further, “it is good that we are reinventing this
competition; during the time of late Samuel Ogbemudua as the
Governor of Bendel State we were made to understand that we can
use our physical strength to develop our talents in the educational
sector. It is on record that 612 schools participated in this edition of
the tournament from the beginning and it is my hope that every
secondary school in our state will participate in the competition as you
can imagine the level of excitement in those schools that participated
and the raw talents that we have discovered in this tournament.”
Dr. Okowa expressed hope that Zenith Bank Plc would also take up the
sponsorship of the Headmasters Cup, adding, “we looking forward to
the bank taking over the sponsorship of the Headmasters’Cup and we
will continue to also encourage well-to-do Deltans to sponsor events
and partner with us in developing our state knowing that government
cannot do everything alone; we need to collaborate in making life more
beautiful for our people. We have made a promise that the winner of
the tournament will go home with a bus and the bus is available, but
the most important thing is that we are able to catch them young and
develop their talents.”
The sports loving Governor further added, “as we go into the future, we nurture the talents to remain at the top in any sporting competition organized in the country; I am happy with the quality of football I am seeing this evening.”
In his remarks, Mr. Henry Okoh, Executive Director, Zenith Bank who spoke on behalf of the Group Managing Director of the bank, assured that the bank would continue to be part of the tournament as part of its social responsibility, he expressed appreciation to the Governor for his passion in the development of sports.
Earlier, Chief PATRICK Ukah, Commissioner for Basic and Secondary
Education said that Gov. Okowa gave the necessary support for the
tournament to be held and expressed gratitude to him.
College of Commerce, Warri emerged winner of the competition after defeating Zappa Mixed Secondary School, Asaba, 2-1 at the end of regulation.
With the victory, College of Commerce went home with the sum of N1 million naira and a brand new bus while Zappa Mixed Secondary School got the sum of N750, 000. There were lots of other prizes given to the teams and players at the event.
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