Benue State Wednesday, received the Torch of Unity, signifying the beginning of the 22nd edition of the National Sports Festival (NSF) tagged “Gateway Games”, scheduled to begin from 16th to 30th May, 2025 in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Receiving the Torch of Unity on behalf of the Governor of Benue State, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia at the Government House Makurdi, the Deputy Governor, Dr Sam Odeh who said, “I receive the Torch of Unity which is an invitation to the National Sports Festival (NSF), assured that, “we are assuring you that Benue will honour the invitation and we are not only going there to participate but to also bring medals home”.
Dr Odeh explained that, “the governor that I have the honour to represent, is a sports enthusiast and in the history of Benue State, no governor of the state has supported sports in a manner that he has done, despite the fact that there are skermishes here and there”.
The Deputy Governor who described sports as a contentious sector, said, “what supporters and fans always want to get is the best results and when they don’t get it, they react in an uncivilized maner”.
He commended the Commissioner of Youth, Sports and Creativity, Hon Terkimbi IKyange and the Permanent Secretary, Dr Philip Nongu for their hard work. “I believe that by working together with this team, we should be able to deliver on the requirements and expectations of Benue delegation to the next NSF”. He further said, “I also know that working together with key drivers in the sports sector, will prompt the governor to do what is necessary to make sure that we do not only attend but also harvest medals for the state”.
Dr Odeh averred that, “you can see that the governor is making huge investments at both the Aper Aku and McCarthy stadiums as well as funding the Lobi Stars FC. We are thinking of diversifying to other sporting activities so that the talents that abound in our state can be harnessed.
“Sport is an industry that is booming globally so we should begin to look at it as not only being a recreation or social engagement but also as a business that is trending today, and if we approach it as a business, we will know that it is competitive therefore, we need to work hard and fix other people”
He saluted the doggedness of the Chairman of Lobi Stars FC, Philip Nongu who had been working hard in the face of daunting challenges. He said, “I know that by the time we finish work on the stadiums, Lobi will bounce back and continue to be the pride of Benue as they have always been”.
The Deputy Governor while welcoming the team to the state, said, “Benue is the home of hospitality in the country, and we take visitors as part of us”. He thanked members of the SWAN for their patriotism, resilience and support for the Alia administration, saying , “as you do your job of reporting sports, we are also going to ensure that we make special provisions for the SWAN to attend the Gateway NSF in Ogun State.
Earlier, the leader of the team, Ikana Mbora disclosed that they had the mandate from the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to go round the 36 states and the FCT for this event and Benue was the 5th state that they were visiting, to hand over the Torch of Unity, signifying that the NSF had commenced.
Ikana Mbora expressed gratitude to the people of Benue State for their warm hospitality and assured that the team would continue their nationwide tour, fulfilling their mandate until they had visited all states in the Federation.
