UNILAG’s VC restates plans to host best NUGA games next year

The Vice Chancellor of University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Oluwatoyin Temitayo Ogundipe, has reiterated plans by the school to host the best Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA) Games ever.

The Games 26th edition is slated for March 16 to 26, 2022. UNILAG will host 136 universities involving about 10,000 students taking part in football (male and female), volleyball, basketball, handball, lawn tennis, table tennis, badminton, hockey, cricket, chess, taekwondo, judo, swimming, karate, athletics, squash and boxing.

Speaking on the school’s preparedness for the Games, Prof. Ogundipe said UNILAG was set to aid the national council in staging a stand out fiesta and ensuring that only bonafide students of the Nigerian universities partake in the Games, through rigorous and transparent accreditation processes and unbiased officiating.

“It gives me great pleasure to brief you all on the Nigerian Universities Games Association to be hosted by the University of Lagos, the university of first choice and the nation’s pride.

“The desire to leverage the all-important opportunity that sports present is what propelled the university, under my leadership, to bid for the hosting right of NUGA Games in 2018. The university won the hosting right after defeating University of Jos in a keenly contested bid with 76 points to 66 points.

“Our sporting facilities are currently undergoing massive renovation and reconstruction to international standards to enable individual athletes to have one of their best lived experiences of sporting during the UNILAG-NUGA Games,” he said.

He added: “UNILAG-NUGA 2022 has been tagged a city NUGA as we intend to take some of the Games outside the university to create an awareness within the society about the unity value of sports. In turn, this will provide the athletes an opportunity to experience the dynamic culture that characterises the Lagos mega polis, which is one of Africa’s largest economic hubs.

“NUGA Games will be viewable from all over the world as we intend to deploy all TV outlets, including our UNILAG TV, optimised by the internet to enable people from anywhere in the world to follow the Games. This will enable us to showcase to the world the talents of Nigerian athletes and enable the various sports managers in Nigeria to identify talents for future national international competitions,” he said.

Prof. Ogundipe then appealed to philanthropists, organisations, businesses, captains of industries and the general public to join hands with UNILAG by donating generously in cash and in kind to make its dream a reality.

Meanwhile, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Temple Company, Idris Olorunnimbe, who is an alumnus, is the Project Lead for the NUGA Games. He appealed to all alumni of the institution to ensure that UNILAG hosts a successful Games.

“When I was appointed the Project Lead for the NUGA Games 2022, the vice chancellor said something I found very compelling and it was very simple. He said the university belongs to the alumni.

“So, my appeal is to anyone who ever passed through this school to use their influence for us to get conversion so that we can get all the ammunition that we need to execute a NUGA Games like never before,” he stated.