AFTER weeks of preparations by athletes and officials from the nine states that make up the Niger Delta region, attention has shifted to the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City as activities marking the 2nd Niger Delta Games take off in full swing.

Draws for the Games were conducted yesterday afternoon by the organisers at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium Media Centre, where the Chairman of the Technical Committee, Enefiok Udo-Obong, said that they (draws) were essentially for the ball games.

“There is no seeding; all states were rated equal,” he said.

Udo-Obong, an Olympic gold medallist and the Technical Adviser to the Royal Saudi Arabia Athletics, was part of the success story at the maiden edition of the Games, which was held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, last year.
Project Director, Fred Edoreh, said that yesterday was the official arrival date of state contingents and competition officials.

“We have everything in place to receive athletes and their coaches at the Benson Idahosa University (BIU), where hostels have been made ready for them,” Edoreh said. “We are satisfied with the facilities in the hostels, which will offer the young athletes a good experience and perhaps stimulate them to good performances,”

A technical meeting for the Games took place late on Wednesday evening and was attended by all the technical heads of each of the 16 sports events listed for the Games.

The nine participating states were pooled in fixtures for a schedule of four games for each day.
The Niger Delta Games is the initiative of the chairman of Dunamis Icon, Sir Itiakpo Malik Ikpokpo, whose aim is to use sports to foster grassroots sports development across the nine Niger Delta states.

The Guardian learnt, yesterday, that the commencement of the Niger Delta Games, the first sub-regional competition in the country, has temporarily ‘crippled’ the Commonwealth Games camp in Asaba.

The Commonwealth Games camp at Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, was put in place by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).

AFN’s head coach, Solomon Aliyu, acknowledged that some of the invited athletes are yet to report to camp, adding that their absences are due to commitments with various states at the Niger Delta Games.

He stated that the camp in Asaba is being used in laying the foundation for what is expected to be a comprehensive and competitive preparation programme heading into the last lap of Nigeria’s build-up to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

“We are expecting more athletes to join the camp after the Niger Delta Games. Some of the athletes called to camp are taking part in the Niger Delta Games. So, after the NDDC Games, we will have a full camp,” Aliyu stated.