Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
No fewer than 300 athletes would compete for honours in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) week-long Senior National Open Tennis championship, in Abuja.
Briefing the media in Abuja yesterday, the CBN said that it will in collaboration with the Nigeria Tannis Federation organise the 40th edition of the Babalola Abdulmin, Joseph Imeh Ubon tournament from June 21 to 30.
President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation, Ifedayo Akindoju, commended CBN for giving a sense of belonging to the physically challenged through the introduction of the wheelchair Tennis Singles event for both men and Ladies in 2013.
He further called on private companies, individuals companies and government agencies to contribute their own quota to the development of Tennis and other sports in general by sponsoring competitions.
“The CBN is indeed a household name in Tennis development,” he stated.
Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Issac Okorafor noted that the CBN is passionate about Nigerian youths, promising to continue to seek ways to empower and impact on the lives of its teeming population.
“The money prize for Men’s and Ladies’ singles winners in this year’s edition is N700,000.00, while the runners-up in both categories is N500,000.00 each,” he noted.
The other prizes are available at Secretariat of the Nigeria Tennis Federation.
“It had been 40 unbroken editions and the CBN objective of discovering emerging tennis talents that could represent the country at major competitions in Africa and beyond, which is met.
“For us in the CBN, we see the relents that have been harnessed through this competition as value for money because investing in the youths is one of the greatest pursuit any nation can embark upon.
“The Bank has also embarked on other initiatives such as the Youth Empowerment Development Programme (YEDP), the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (AADM), and the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) to enable youth in the country not to only create wealth for themselves but also become employers of labour,” he said.