Cross River ready to host 2015 NSF says official

THE Cross River Director of Sports, Dr Jude Amadi, on Thursday restated the commitment of the government to host the 19th National Sports Festival (NSF) scheduled for April 8 in Calabar.

Amadi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar that the event holding at the period was, however, subject to the decision of sports stakeholders.

According to him, the decision of the stakeholders at a meeting on a yet-to-be-specified date would determine whether the festival would hold at that date or not.

But observers, who spoke to NAN in separate interviews, said that though Cross River was poised to host the event, the postponement of the general elections to April 11 was likely to force a shift in date.

They also told NAN that the facilities and venues for the festival should equally be completed and handed over before the April 8 date to show the state’s preparedness to host the Games.

They also identified the absence of a commissioner for sports in the state as also sending a wrong signal of the government’s readiness to host the festival.

According to the analysts, the appointment and swearing in of a substantive Commissioner for Sports in Cross River is a key factor in driving government’s policy on sports and desire to successfully host the event.

NAN reports that the state government has yet to appoint a substantive commissioner for sports after it dissolved its cabinet in the last quarter of 2014. (NAN)