Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo on Sunday assured Nigerians that the state has what it takes to stage a successful 20th National Sports Festival (NSF) in 2020.
Obaseki gave the assurance while answering questions from journalists on the sidelines of the Closing Ceremony of the 19th NSF at the Abuja National Stadium.
“We have been embarking on massive rehabilitation of our sports facilities and I can only assure Nigerians that Edo has the capacity to successfully host the next NSF.
“Our bid was the strongest for the 2020 NSF. Now that we have won the rights to host the 20th NSF in 2020, I assure all that sports ranks very high in the priority list of our administration.
“The Deputy Governor of the state is directly responsible for sports. He supervises our Sports Commission.
“We have just set up an independent sports commission. I don’t believe that any state has the kind of attention we accord sports at the governance and technical levels,” Obaseki said.
The News Agency if Nigeria (NAN) reports that Edo was given the green light to host the event ahead of three other states which tabled bids to host the event.
The other states are Cross River, Delta and Imo.
Obaseki also thanked the Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, for reviving the festival.
“We congratulate the Minister of Sports, who brought back this symbolic event. I think it’s a great thing for Nigerian youths, a great thing for our sports and a great thing for our country,” he said.
Team Edo finished third behind Delta and Rivers on the overall medals table at the 19th NSF, with 47 gold, 41 silver and 53 bronze medals.
However, the governor believed that his state were the runaway winners of the festival.
“If you look at the medals table, we finished third. But if you look at the chart based on the state of origin of individual athletes, Edo won.
“As a state, we know that many of our indigenous athletes were poached by other states. That tells you that Edo is the home of sports in Nigeria,” the governor said.
The 19th NSF, which kicked off on Dec. 6, came to a close on Sunday at the Abuja National Stadium.(NAN)
