Nasarawa state would become a sports theatre in Nigeria in the next two years based on the commitments and resolve of the state government, Governor Abdullahi Sule has said.
Addressing sportswriters on the sidelines of the 5th National Youth Games on Monday, Sule, who was represented by his SSA on Sports, Youth and NGO Matter, Hon. Kwanta Yakubu, said his government was concerned about sports development, adding that they were set to upgrade sports facilities and organise competitions in the various sports.
“Governor Abdullahi Sule is highly committed to sports development. Recently, we celebrated 100 days in office in which a lot of achievements have been recorded in terms of sports development. His Excellency has given contract on the construction of sports academy.
“We have opened talks with top consultants in Germany, there are investors from Germany who want to open a sports theater in Nasarawa state. In the next two years, Nasarawa state will become a sports theatre in Nigeria,” he said.
Kwanta, who emphasised the exploits of the Nasarawa Amazons in winning the female Aiteo Cup final in Kaduna, where they defeated Bayelsa Queens, said another achievement was having 10 athletes picked among the top discoveries from the U-15 Games in Ilorin to be handed over to the federations for tutelage.
He expressed satisfaction with the state’s outing at the Games, noting that he was optimistic of better results at subsequent editions. “Yes I’m very satisfied with the performance here. We are trying to see how our subsequent outings will be more successful.
“We always demand they should do better than this. We will assess our performance, analyse the Games and see why we are not number one and see where we need to improve,” he said.
The Governor’s aide reiterated his plan to develop grassroots, “recently, we inaugurated a committee to revamp sports across all the local government areas in the state. There are plans to organise sports competitions at the local governments and grassroots level.”
