From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
No fewer than 1,500 athletes and officials will participate in a weeklong 19th edition of Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Games (NOGIG) holding between April 21-27, 2024 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Chairman, Local Organising Committee (LOC), Dr. Ifeyinwa Mojo-Eyes, made the disclosure in Abuja on Wednesday at a press conference to herald the Games.
She expressed happiness that the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Games which started in 1986, with just two oil and gas companies, has made significant progress with 13 companies set to battling out for medals at this year’s edition.
The participating 13 companies, according to her, include NNPCL, Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, Seplat Energy, NUPRC, ARADEL, Oando, NLNG, Chevron, PTI and NCDMB.
Mojo-Eyes, further explained that the participating companies, through their athletes, will vie for honours in 13 sports including football, basketball, volleyball, athletics, golf, chess, table tennis, badminton, squash, scrabble, Tennis, swimming and eight-ball pool.
She also announced that the major objective behind prominent companies from the oil and gas industry coming together to compete in sporting events is to empower wellness and ignite productivity within the industry.
Stressing that the health benefits of sports cannot be overemphasized to humans, she said: “By fostering a culture of physical activity and healthy competition, we aim to promote overall well-being among participants while also enhancing productivity in the workplace.
“Therefore, the major objective is for us to come together, synergies, networking and most importantly keep fit. It is because of the health benefits that the theme of this year’s Oil and Gas Games is ‘Empower Wellness, Ignite Productivity’.
“A healthy nation is the best because you get the best from the employees and best of results. Aside from the fact that participating in sports activities get you the best productivity level, it reduces medical cost and time lost,” Mojo-Eyes narrated.
She added that the 19th NOGIG would be held in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Sports Development, who is exploring initiatives to further promote sports and fitness awareness on a national scale.