•NSC may move federations’ elections to Abuja
The initiator of the recently concluded Niger Delta Sports Festival, Itiako Ikpokpo, has said that the country will return to its exalted position in world sports when private sector operators join the government in building the sector.
Ikpokpo also said that the country is on the verge of arresting the free fall that the sector has suffered with President Bola Tinubu’s decision to appoint technocrats to manage the industry.
Speaking during a working visit to the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko, at the weekend, Ikpokpo, affirmed his decision to positively contribute to sports at the federal level having successfully organised the Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF) last month in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
He said: “I have come to see the NSC chairman because his vision of taking sports to the next level aligns with mine and is quite exceptional and unprecedented. I am also here to thank him personally for his support to us towards the successful organisation of the NDSF.
“I have come to commit to other possible collaborations for the advancement of sports in Nigeria in line with the vision of the chairman and indeed the RHINES strategy.
“I am an entrepreneur and always on the lookout for investments that will improve the lot of humanity. So, this meeting was very fruitful. I have initiated the Local Government Sports Festival in Delta and the Niger Delta Sports Festival, but there is more that I can still contribute to sports at the federal level.
“My passion for sports development found a meeting point in Mallam Dikko, who is the father of sports in the country and also has a reputable track record in sports administration.
“When we put heads together, it is for the ultimate good of Nigerian sports. With the sports economy vision being carried out by this administration, the private sector must be encouraged to get more involved in the industry and I can contribute positively to this objective. We have to put our money where our mouths are.”
While thanking Tinubu for appointing Mallam Dikko as NSC Chairman, Ikpokpo said he is very confident that he will excel on the assignment.
Ikpokpo, a former Students Union president at the University of Port Harcourt, and two-time Chairman of Isoko South LGA in Delta State, told The Guardian, last week, that he is in the race to become the next president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) in the Election scheduled for the end of this month.
He is a former Director-General of ALGON, whose company, Dunamis Icon Limited, launched the Delta State Local Councils Sports Festival a few years ago where some star athletes, including U.S.-based Favour Ofili, were discovered.
The incumbent AFN President, Tonobok Okowa, is seeking a re-election believing that his work in the first term will see him through.
Also in the AFN presidential race is Commodore Omatseye Nesiama (retd), a current board member and former Technical Director of the body, whose tenure produced the likes of Tobi Amusan, Ese Brume and Divine Oduduru for the country between 2013 and 2014.
Meanwhile, there are indications that the 2025 Sports Federation elections may be held in Abuja to prevent “rigging” by some individuals, who are already preparing to host the elective congress of their federations in their states.
A source close to the NSC told The Guardian, yesterday, that the body is not comfortable with the arrangement by some individuals that are preparing to host their elective congress in their state.
“This arrangement by some individuals scheming to host their federation elective congress in their states won’t produce clear winners and the NSC won’t go with it. The election might be held in Abuja.
“Again, the NSC won’t accept the guideline that is being paraded by some federations. The NSC will come up with proper guidelines for all the sports federations to follow in conducting the coming election,” the source stated.
