Cross River targets N5b to host Sports Festival

CROSS River State Government is targeting N5billion to host 12, 000 athletes and officials for the 19th National Sports Festival.

This target was set by the State’s Commissioner of Youths and Sports Comrade Asu Okang recently when the marketing Consortium and Consultants for the National Sports festival presented a marketing strategy to State Government for the successful hosting of the festival slated for Calabar from Nov 8-21,2016

Addressing the consultants, the Deputy Governor, Prof.Ivara Esu said the N5 billion target set by the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, was feasible if they pursue the project diligently.

He assured them of the state government’s readiness to collaborate with them and stressed the importance of early preparations, emphasizing on infrastructures marketing to enhance early completion of projects.

Prof. Esu said the choice of a facilitator for the games could go beyond the indigenes to enable the state get the maximum benefit for hosting the paradise games.
He charged them to assess cooperate bodies for assistance stressing that they must show high level capacity to handle the project and assured of government,s readiness to do all that was agreed at the just concluded National Council on Sports meeting in Calabar

To meet the target set by the state government, a representative of the Consortium, Mr. Abimbola Sumola of Q-Sports said one key challenge ahead of their task was to restore confidence in Cooperate Nigeria that the Paradise Games formally called the Centenary games having been postponed twice will surely hold as scheduled.