Delta State remains the leaders in Nigeria Sports sector despite placing second behind neighbour, Team Bayelsa, at the maiden edition of the Niger Delta Sports Festival, which held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
This was the submission of the Chairman, House Committee on Sports in the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Emmanuel Sinebe.
Sinebe, who was in Uyo for the sports fiesta, said Team Delta would bounce back, adding that the result from Uyo is a wake-up call, as the state would not allow its performance at the regional sports fiesta to deter its focus.
He said lessons had been learnt from the performances of the Team Delta contingent and urged the athletes to redouble their efforts and preparations to ensure the state retained its title at the National Sports Festival in Abeokuta next month.
The legislator urged the management of the Delta State Sports Commission to dig deep and reinvent the states preparations towards ensuring a successful outing in Abeokuta, stressing that the state cannot afford to relinquish its leadership position in Nigeria sports.
He called for early camping and decisive strategies towards enhancing the state’s performance in the biennial sports fiesta tagged Nigerian Olympics.
Sinebe, however, lauded Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for his funding of the state’s sports sector and called on the private sector to partner with government towards taking the sector to a higher pedestal asserting that sports remained a veritable tool for eradication of poverty, unemployment as well as enhancing security as it would reduce the crime rate in the state as sportsmen and women were hardly involved in criminal tendencies.
He also commended the Chairman of the State Sports Commission, Mr. Onoriode Oborevwori and the management of the commission for their dedication to duty saying though they gave their best at the Niger Delta Sports Festival in Uyo, it was not enough to win it as Delta placed second behind eventual winners Bayelsa with a gold medal less as Bayelsa had 42 gold medals and Delta had 41 gold medals in what he described as a keenly Contested games.
