Vice President Namadi Sambo
Vice President Namadi Sambo, has said the 17th National Sports Festival, tagged Garden City Games 2011 hosted by Rivers State, has surpassed the previous sports festivals since its inception in 1973.
Sambo stated this Saturday night during the closing ceremony of the 17th National Sports Festival, at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt.
The Vice president said the improvements recorded in the provision of sporting facilities, organisation and the competitive spirit among athletes shows that Port Harcourt is back to take its pride of place in Nigeria as it has transformed the festival.
According to him, Garden City Games is one festival that has showcased huge talents which abound in the country, stressing that with the record of achievements, Nigeria will have athletes that would represent her in international sporting events.
He explained that sports play a critical role in modern society as most countries are reaping great benefits from sports, emphasizing that athletes at the festival gave their best to achieve results for their various states.
Sambo hinted that with the standard set at the Garden City games, the benefit of hosting the festival are now more enhanced and urged other states to show interest to harvest from the games.The Vice President charged the National Sports Commission (NSC) to sustain the innovation introduced in the 17th National Sports Festival to enable them nurture and harness the athletes that were discovered during the games.
He commended the Rivers State Government for hosting and winning the highest number of medals, adding that the state has given the most colourful opening and closing ceremony.
In his speech, the Rivers State Governor , Hon. Rotimi Amaechi , said the festival achieved its aim of fostering friendship, brotherly love and unity among the diverse groups in the country.Governor Amaechi remarked that from the onset the state promised to host one of the best sporting festivals in recent history, explaining that reports received indicate that the state has set another standard for future hosts of the festival.
The Governor noted that the state of the art sporting facilities at the sports complex has started receiving request for use by the various sports federations and promised to cooperate with those interests in the use of the facilities.He described the festival as most exciting and lauded President Goodluck Jonathan for his love for the youths of Nigeria as well as for sports development, pointing out that the efforts of the MOC and the LOC were immense in setting the high standard of the games.
The Governor said the commitment, dedication and hard work of the state was responsible for the high performance of team Rivers while commending journalists for the effective coverage of the festival.
Earlier, the Director General, National Sports Commission (NSC) Dr. Patrick Ekeji, said the festival which started in 1973 has witnessed great improvement as the athletes competed in 28 sports.
Ekeji said the NSC has introduced a number of innovations in the management of the sports festival and to evolve ways of strengthening it, noting that the impressive performance of athletes was encouraging for sports development in Nigeria.
He described the 2011 Garden City Games as great technical success in the history of the festival and congratulated Rivers State for hosting a remarkable festival which they also won with 135 Gold, 29 silver and 85 Bronze medals to place first while Delta and Edo states came second and third respectively.Highlight of the closing ceremony was the presentation of trophies to the winners and the putting out of the tough of unity.
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