The Abia State School Sports Festival 2020 and Ist edition of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu Table Tennis School Championship Cup, organised by the State Ministry of Youth and Sports in collaboration with Ministry of Education has been flagged-off.
Speaking at flag-off the event tagged “Catching Them Young” held at Osusu Amaukwa Model Primary School, Obingwa Local Government Area, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu said that Abia State was known for various sporting activities before shifting and concentrating on soccer alone.
Dr. Ikpeazu, who observed that the essence of the festival was to re-write the narratives and ensure that pulpils and students begin from the cradle to learn different sporting activities. He congratulated the Ministry of Youth & Sports for collaborating with other relevant Ministries in achieving the festival.
According to him, his administration spent a huge amount of money in the reconstruction of the Enyimba Stadium, noting that the State has invested much in sports.
The representative of the Minister of Sports, Dr. Ademola Are described the event by the Abia State Government as laudable and stressed the need for more awareness about sports development.
He said the Federal Government attached great importance to grassroot sports, saying that the importance of sports development cannot be over-emphasized.
While regretted the decline of sporting activities in the country, the Federal Minister appreciated the developmental projects of Abia State under the leadership of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Youth & Sports Development, Chief Emeka Ikwuagwu said that the festival was instituted in line with the Governor’s mandate of reviving sporting activities in the State.
Chief Ikwuagwu disclosed that the festival which has 800 public and private schools in the State as participants and categorized into males and females, would expose pulpils and students to 18 different sporting activities.
He said the event which was the biggest sporting activity ever done in the State could be described as a mega inter-house sports revealing that talents of various sporting fields would be fished out from the event.
The Commissioner used the opportunity to inform that the event would be an annual one.
The high point of event saw the Governor playing a table tennis game with the Transition Committee Chairman of Obingwa LGA. There was also match past from pulpils and students from various schools as well as unveiling of the the competition logo and mascot by the Governor who also lit the commemorative torch for the games.
