By Magnus Emuji
ASABA/Nigeria: The Delta State Governor, Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa, has urged the state contingent to the 2021 National Youth Games in Ilori, Kwara State, to ensure that the team did not only emerge victorious in the competition but also strive to surpass the number of medals won in the last edition.
Senator Okowa gave the charge in Asaba yesterday inside the Indoor Sports Hall of Stephen Keshi International Stadium during a prayer session organised for Team Delta to the 6th National Youth Games.
The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief Patrick Ukah, advised the team to make good use of every opportunity provided by the festival to remain the best among equals while competing for medals in various events.
He said that the state was already known for dominating the sporting arena in Nigeria for over two decades and prayed God for it to continue to be so even as he reiterated his administration’s determination to motivate the athletes in order for them to do their best for the state.
He noted that the state had won several laurels in the past, recalling that in the last edition of the youth games, Team Delta won 41 Gold, 32 Silver and 31 Bronze medals to emerge first.
The governor stressed the need for the athletes to develop relationships in love , peace and understanding that would outlive the period of the sporting activity, adding that as leaders of tomorrow they should demonstrate humility in victory and dignity in defeat.
In his welcome address, the Chairman of the Delta State Sports Commission, Chief Tonybok Okowa, said that it was the tradition of the state that whenever Team Delta was going for any competiton, the Sport Commission would organise prayer session for the athletes and the team at large.
He said that there was need to put God first, adding that the state had always been victorious since Governor Ifeanyi Okowa administration came on board .
The Delta State Sports Commission Chairman, who is also the President of Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), reminded the atletes that Team Delta was going to Ilorin as defending champion, pointing out that the state had won the competition right from the 1st to the 5th edition.
Earlier, the State Commissioner for Secondary Education, Mrs. Rose Ezewu, who enjoined members of Team Delta to display Delta spirit of not giving up, expressed optimism that the team would clinch victory at the end of the competition.
Mrs. Ezewu used the opportunity to reaffirm her determination towards taking the education sector to enviable height.
The service featured praise and worship and the annointing of the contingent by the Chaplain of Government House Chapel, Asaba, Venerable Charles Osemene.
