NDDC shifts attention to sports facilities development

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) under Prof. Nelson Braimbraifa will focus on facilities development in its quest to grow the sports sector in the area, a senior official of the commission has said.

Early this week, Prof. Braimbraifa, who is the NDDC acting chairman, identified the need to channel Niger Delta youths’ energy to fruitful ventures, using sports as the launch pad.

According to the source, who pleaded anonymity, the NDDC boss has come up with a blueprint for sports with special focus on putting in place state of art facilities in all the Niger Delta communities.

“The whole idea is to lay a solid foundation for sports in the region. He wants to do it by putting in place sports infrastructure in all the nooks and crannies of the region. Communities and neighborhoods would have recreational sports centers where the youths can go and train.

“That way, the youths can engage in sports rather than idle away. This is a new direction that would see NDDC using sports to combat youth restiveness,” our source said.

He noted that NDDC has over the years been doing a good job in the area of road construction, provision of water and electricity to communities without paying attention to sports.

“Sports will receive good attention moving forward given the new blueprint the NDDC leadership is working on.