Dare to receive PAN African Scrabble Championship trophy, delegation in Abuja

• Jighere tour Ghana, Kenya schools with PAN African Scrabble trophy

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare, has confirmed his readiness to revive the inaugural PAN African Youth Scrabble Championship trophy and delegation in Abuja on May 15th ahead of the PANASA Championship, which holds from August 24 to 28, at the Chrisland School, Lagos.

President of the Pan African Scrabble Association (PANASA), Adekoyejo Adegbesan, said that the trophy tour was to create more awareness on scrabble development in Nigeria and Africa.

“The sports minister has confirmed May 15 to receive the trophy. Chrisland School has also planned an extensive event, which will include the police band meeting the trophy at the airport in Abuja. A convoy of vehicles will then lead us to see the minister, from where we will proceed for an international press conference. We will thereafter go to the Arise News Studio, where their former student, Ojinika Ojy Okpe, will be interviewing Jighere,” he said.

Meanwhile, the PAN African Scrabble Association (PANASA), in conjunction with Scrabble Association of Ghana (SAG), hosted former world champion, Nigeria’s Wellington Jighere, as part of activities to herald the historic African Youth Scrabble Championship (AYSC).

Jighere, who is the ambassador of the PANASA Championship billed to hold in Lagos in August, visited selected schools in Ghana to create more awareness of the championship.

The SAG honoured the most successful and most decorated African scrabble player during his visit because of his dexterity and influence on the game in the World.

In 2015, the Delta State-born star won the World Championship in Australia to become the first African to achieve that feat when he defeated Lewis MacKay.

At 25, he was the youngest player to be crowned African Champion in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

Widely considered as the face of African scrabble, Jighere arrived in Accra last week with the Dr. Winifred Awosika Trophy and was received at the Kotoka International Airport by SAG, Haruna Adamu.

The Trophy Tour made a stop at the biggest privately owned radio station in Ghana, Joy FM Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) before moving to selected schools in Accra and Tema.