Managing Consultant of the Niger Delta Sports Festival, Sir Itiako Ikpokpo, teed off the Golf Kitty organised in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

This is even as the organisers rev up preparations for the Cultural Expo with the stage being rigged and rehearsals commenced.

Held at the Ibom Golf and Country Club on Saturday (April 5) morning, on the sidelines of the sports competitions, the event is part of the community engagement activities of the festival to foster social networking.

Over 130 golfers were in the kitty with members of the Main and Local Organising Committees of the Niger Delta Sports Festival in attendance.

“The NDSF project sponsored by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was designed to achieve multipurpose objectives of discovering and nurturing athletes, foster regional integration and engaging our host community.

“We have also provided opportunity for games demonstration towards bringing them in when the next edition holds. Cricket and Rugby are such games and we will keep redesigning the festival concept to accommodate more sports”, Ikpokpo told journalists at the event.

The festival also incorporated a Cultural Expo that will hold on April 7 and a number of upcoming entertainers from the nine mandate states will be on parade for comedy, music and masters of ceremony.

Edi Lawani, the country’s leading entertainment impresario said the Cultural Expo is a community engagement platform to provide the people of Akwa Ibom State, the festival community and tourists a time to wind down.

“Over 40 artistes will be on parade as we provide music, comedy, dance and food court for everyone in Uyo to feel the sports festival atmosphere outside the competition venues and make new social and business friends”, the thickly Lawani said donning his trademark shorts and backpack.

“Just as the NDSF is poised to discover new talents in sports, the cultural expo of the NDSF is equally designed to give a boost to and uplift young upcoming talents in the creative industry”, Lawani further stated.

Established talents like Comedian Destalker and singer Humblesmith are billed to perform to give inspiration and mentorship to the assembled young talents.

He said emphasis has also been placed on gender inclusiveness as there are female artistes, female Disc Jockeys and a female red-carpet host who are set take their place of pride at the event.

The Expo night which holds at the popular Unity Park also known as the Christmas Village, will enjoy the full complement of exotic show lighting display and large screen format projection.

Stakeholders of Nigerian football opined that governments at all levels should completely hands off sponsorship or ownership of football clubs in Nigeria.

According to some aficionados, the state-owned clubs have not thrived or perform better than privately owned clubs in recent times.

And yet, another strong voice in the fortunes of Nigerian football has joined the fray, albeit from a fresher angle.

Speaking in a recent interview, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ikorodu City Football club, Sanmi Doherty, admonished the federal government to establish a football trust fund that would empower the clubs to operate in line with the global best practices in world football. He added that Nigerian clubs would be able to compete favourably with their counterparts on the continent.

“I think government should only provide the facilities the enabling environment for the clubs. I think we can also have a trust fund fir Nigerian clubs. Tell me, why can’t the federal government earmark certain amounts of money as annual grants to help the clubs playing in the league?

“You know we’re not only promoting football, we’re also empowering the youths and using football to curb restiveness amongst the youths.

” Football is big business and capital intensive. For instance, if I know that I’m going to receive maybe N3billion from the government as my annual allocation, I can conveniently go for the best players, pay them very well, and ensure they get the conducive environment to ply their trades professionally and of course, the desired results will come,” the youthful club owner enthused confidently.

As part of the activities marking the 2025 International Day of Sports for Development and Peace, the Lagos State Sports Commission in collaboration with the Global Ambassadors Initiative has announced a series of events commemorating the celebration.

At a media briefing held on Friday at the Conference Room of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Director General, Lekan Fatodu discussed extensively the significance of sports in propagating youth empowerment, social cohesion and bridging the gaps in segregating some members of the society.

The LSSC boss stated that the IDSDP is in harmony with the commission mandate of encouraging mass participation in sports, providing an enabling environment for youth to exhibit their hidden talent irrespective of their social status and background.

The theme for this year’s celebration is ’Leveling the Playing Field: Sports For Social Inclusion’, Fatodu highlights the role of sports in bringing everybody on the board and ensuring that no one is neglected. He acknowledged its positive impact in challenging stereotypes and prejudices, giving voices to the voiceless and fostering gender equality.

The Lagos state government through the sports commission, over time, has leveraged the power of sports in bringing the youth into the limelight, providing opportunities for talents to combine sports with education to raise future leaders and champions from the communities.

The partnership with Carmel Academy to mark the International Day of Sports for Development and Peace attests to the power of collaboration with the Lagos State Sports Commission, Ministry of Education, Lagos State Universal Basic Education, Sports Providing Entities and corporate sponsors.

Executive Trustee of Ambassador Initiatives for Youth Development and Conflict Resolution, Ndidi Edeoghon, said the IDSDP was designed to showcase the impact of sports on social changes, bridging the gap of inequality, gender sensitivity, promoting a healthy environment and the immense contributions to the livelihood.

The International Day of Sports for Development and Peace is celebrated globally on April 6th every year, as designated by the United Nations General Assembly. The three-day event will feature about 1000 pupils and students from selected primary and secondary schools across the state. The debate, competition and award ceremony are set for May 7th, 8th and 10th respectively.

After the Leadership debate on the opening day, participate in Athletics, Swimming and Board Games including Ayo Olopon on the second day while pupils and students who perform exceptionally well in both debate and sports activities will get awards and certificates on the final day.