Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Enugu State government over the weekend celebrated the 2024 International Olympic Day, with fun-fare.
The event, which took place at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium Enugu was attended by the state’s Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Barr. Lloyd Ekweremadu, and other government functionaries.
Speaking at the event, Ekweremadu urged the youth to actively participate in various sporting programmes to prepare them to win laurels in future Olympics.
He reiterated the determination of the Dr. Peter Mbah Administration to reposition the state as the premier sports hub in Nigeria and Africa.
He explained that for the state, the 2024 Olympic Day event was a celebration of peace, sports excellence, creating awareness about the forthcoming Olympic Games, and drumming up support for Miss Lucy Ejike, who would represent Nigeria at the coming Paralympics.
The Commissioner described sports as a huge business and charged the younger generations to consider sports as a veritable avenue to put the state and Nigeria on the global map for good reasons.
According to him, the state government had initiated several youth programmes aimed at developing grassroots sports in the state.
He said that initiatives when fully developed would produce world-class athletes that would represent the state in local and international tournaments, including future Olympic Games.
“The World Olympic Day Celebration here in Enugu is for us a celebration of peace and sports excellence and creating awareness. This is especially so since we have one of our own, Lucy Ejike, who will be representing Nigeria in power-lifting.
“Enugu is the home of sports excellence in Nigeria, and then most recently, Rangers International of Enugu won the NPFL title and getting ready to represent Nigeria on the continental stage.
“So, we are just sending that message that we are still here and that we will continue to be here, not just as home for sports excellence, but also sports stories in Nigeria,” he said.
He, however, said the administration was committed to doing more.
“Just last week, after the State Executive Council Meeting, we had the privilege to announce that the Council had approved the revamping of various recreation parks across Enugu city for a start.
“Each park will feature sporting facilities, including five-aside pitches, basketball courts, and the tennis courts to allow for more opportunities for people to exercise their talents and give us a larger pool to select from.
“So, we have huge ambition and targets that we have set for ourselves, and we are more concerned with meeting those targets.
“We are more concerned that we build grassroots sports. We are more concerned that we deliver on new sporting facilities in the state. And we are also concerned that we host the 2026 National Sports Festival,” Ekweremadu said.
