The Chairman Edo State Athletics Association Board, Barrister Dele Edokpayi said at the weekend that private sector involvement in grassroots sport development in the state is to assist government divert our unemployed youths’ energy to productive venture.
Speaking to journalists at the closing ceremony of the World Athletics Championship Trials held in Benin city between Wednesday, July 5th – Friday, 7th, 2023, Barrister Edokpayi commended the state government on the huge investment so far expended on facilities and equipment at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.
The chairman who was excited with the legal frame work establishing the state’s sports commission however maintained that with the law in place, no government will come tomorrow to take us back to where we are coming from when sport was in the hands of government officials.
According to Edokpayi, “Government saw the benefit of sports that is why it revamped the dreams of our fore – bears like the late Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia and others.
“Private organisations are now coming in because the government has lead the way by investing heavily on facilities at the stadium and all what we need to do as citizens is to assist now that we have a throw back to what it used to be in the past.
“We believe, sport is an industry that would enable government divert the energy of our youths in the community to productive ventures,” he said.
Answering question on why school children were not inside the main bowl of the stadium complex during the Championships Trials, Barr. Edokpayi noted that the just concluded Championships Trials was of international standard and there are rules governing the games, and the rules do not allow children’s presence inside the main bowl, and that was while canopies were erected outside the arena for them to sit so they can have their own feel of the game.
