The Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba was filled with pomp and ceremony yesterday as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu officially opened the 8th National Youth Games (NYG) in Delta State.
Represented by Minister of Sports Development Senator John Owan Enoh, President Tinubu praised the NYG as a beacon of hope for the nation’s sports.
Tagged Asaba 2024, this is the second consecutive time Delta State is hosting the NYG, having also hosted the 7th edition in 2023.
Tinubu urged Nigerians particularly stakeholders in the sports industry, to rally behind the Ministry of Sports Development in the bid to turn around the fortune of the sporting sector for the better.
“There is no better time than now to stage this National Youth Games after our participation at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics. Though our athletes did better at the Paralympics, there is an urgent need to re-strategize for Nigeria’s sports to return to winning ways. One of the reasons our sports is on the decline is age falsification. We need to get it right at this level.
“My administration is dedicated to repositioning sports for a better tomorrow. When I came here for the opening ceremony of the seventh edition of the National Youth Games last year, I was barely two weeks old in office. I can proudly say that there is a drastic improvement in the opening ceremony this year.”
Meanwhile, Delta State Governor , Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, in his welcoming address said the NYG offers the opportunity to discover young athletes to replace aging ones, adding that Delta being the home of sports in Nigeria, would continue to lead the way.
“Nigeria’s performance at major international sporting events is on the decline,” he said.
“It may not be the problem of the sports minister.
“ We need to tackle the issue together. I expect old records to be broken and new ones set in this year’s National Youth Games. Delta is proud to partner with the Federal Ministry of Sports in hosting this Games to reposition our sports.”
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He continued: “There is a good result from hosting these games because, you can see this last Olympics in Paris, our daughter, Favour Ofili did very well even though she did not win a medal. She is a product of these games.
“So, in this year’s games, we are looking for a talent better than Ofili. I assure our people that this year will be better than last year.”
He urged all the athletes to compete fairly saying: “You are on your way to winning medals for Nigeria at the Olympic Games.”
Oborevwori also urged the sports ministry to as a matter of urgency reverse the age limit of participation in the National Youth Games to its original U-17 from the present U-15 so that athletes discovered can easily form the bedrock of the national U-20 teams.
The Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), Chief Solomon Ogba, said all that is needed to make Nigerian youths happy throughout the Games have been put in place.
He thanked the governor for giving the LOC and Delta Sports Commission the moral and financial support to host the Games.