The Wife of the Governor of Abia State, Mrs. Nkechi Ikpeazu has advocated the use of sports as a form of bridge-building among Countries on the African Continent and Transnational Corporations as well as see sports as a vehicle for unifying national divides.
Mrs Ikpeazu, who stated this in a message to the 3rd African International Para-Badminton Workshop holding at the National Stadium Abuja, noted that sports had proven an effective tool for international diplomacy.
She commended the Badminton Federation of Africa for choosing Nigeria as the host of the five-day workshop and camp expressing the hope that the outcomes would help expand the frontiers of the game on the continent.
According to Mrs Ikpeazu, “Para badminton is gradually gaining appeal in our country and sports-lovers like myself will often throw our weight behind it as we seek new ways for our young ones to express their physical talents; Like every sport, Para-Badminton nurtures unity in diversity and creates a platform for excellence.
“The unique gains of giving disabled sports prominence is that it fosters a sense of belonging in society and encourage the physically challenged to excel by stimulating competitiveness.”
Mrs. Ikpeazu added that it was the reason why she has tried to support the growth of this game, by hosting two editions of the Nkechi Ikpeazu National Open Para-Badminton Championships in Umuahia and by sponsoring the team to the African and World Para-Badminton Championships in Uganda in 2018.
She invited conglomerates and sports philanthropists to see sports development as a challenge and do their best to keep sports alive in Nigeria,” She concluded.
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