Pageantry was on display as the maiden edition of the Bayelsa State Sports Festival began at an opening ceremony filled with the rich Ijaw culture held at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex in Yenagoa over the weekend.
Bayelsa Governor, Senator Douye Diri who declared the event tagged ‘Prosperity Unity Games’ open, disclosed that his present administration would continue to accord priority to sports to enable the people to have healthy lives and create avenues for the youth to actualize their potential.
According to him the idea behind conceiving the Bayelsa State Sports Festival was to foster unity among the people and positively channel the energy of the youth for productive ventures.
Diri, while expressing the hope that the competition would produce a new generation of sportsmen and women that would become national and global stars, urged the participants to exhibit the spirit of sportsmanship and fair play.
“Sports are not only a competitive event. Sports also stop you from visiting the hospital frequently.
“For us as a government, the idea is that we want to prevent our citizens from being regular customers at hospitals and one sure way to achieve that is through sports.
“This is one of the reasons we are replicating the National Sports Festival that we have been participating in over the years by bringing it home to also have the Bayelsa Sports Festival,” he said.
The Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Daniel Igali commended the Governor Diri-led administration for the smooth take-off of the historic State Sports Festival, giving an assurance that the event would provide an avenue to discover raw talents.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Corporation, Dr Herbert Wigwe who was represented by the Relationship Manager of Access Bank, Mr Miebi Flint Kakiri said the financial institution decided to sponsor the games to develop sporting talent in the State.
In the opening football match, Brass and Ogbia settled for a two-all draw at the main bowl of the Samson Siasia Sports Complex.