Bank pleased with Anambra U13/U17 academicals

Fidelity Bank Plc has said it is pleased to partner Anambra State government in the just concluded U13/U17 Academicals, which final took place at St. Mary’s High School, Ifitedunu at the weekend.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo, who made the remark during the closing ceremony of the event, described sports as a strong element in youth development.

The Central School, Ekwulobia defeated Eri Primary School by three goals to one to lift the U13 trophy, with a cash prize of N500, 000.

At the U17 category, Community Secondary School, Uga, beat Metropolitan College, Onitsha by three goals to two, to win the trophy and a cash prize of N1 million.

Okonkwo said the partnership was a way of giving back to the society, stressing that through the initiative the bank also intended to curb youth restiveness by engaging them meaningfully.

“Since sports is a very strong element in youth development, we felt we needed to partner with the state to make sure we get this competition going strongly.

“You can see what happened here today and I think that it was really an international standard show they put up. We are proud to have supported that and we are looking forward to continuing this support,” he said.

The Deputy Governor, Dr. Nkem Okeke, who represented the governor, Chief Willie Obiano, said the competition was a demonstration of the governor’s belief and commitment towards advancing the cause of the youths in the state.

According to him, engaging the youths in all forms of programmes, projects, sporting activities, skills acquisition are all part of youth development to keep them away from social vices.

“We’ve all had a wonderful day seeing these kids show their skills in football. You can see the enthusiasm of these kids,” he said.

He commended Fidelity Bank for sponsoring the tournament, noting that Okonkwo’s presence at the finals showed the commitment of the bank to the initiative.

“It’s not just football that we play here. There are other games like basketball and tennis and they can be involved in organising these and I know we have the players in Anambra,” he stated.