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- MOC JUSTIFIES POSTPONEMENT
Three days after the Main Organising Committee on the festival, under the chairmanship of Alhaji AbdulQuadir Shuaib Akanbi, issued a press statement to disseminate the postponement of the 7th Kwara State Sports Festival earlier scheduled to hold between 5th to 12th of January, 2020, the Main Organising Committee and the various Sub-Committees for the festival met to explain to members the factors that informed the postponement.
The meeting, which was held today at the Board Room of the Kwara State Sports Council, and presided over by the Vice-Chairman and Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee, Alhaji Hammed Adio, was also used as a platform for the quorum to re-strategise the plans of the Committees as regards the forthcoming festival.
Appreciating members of the various committees for their commitment and quick responses to tasks given to them on different matters even at short short notice, Alhaji Adio highlighted the achievements of the MOC so far, which he said included meeting with the LGAs’ DPMs, invitation of Sports Coordinators across the sixteen LGAs in the State, distribution of forms to the stakeholders at the LG level to indicate the events that they will participate in, visitations to the Honourable Members of the Kwara State House of Assembly, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Mamman Saba Jibril, the Head of Service, Mrs. Susan Modupe Oluwole, the newly sworn-in Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Hon. Joana Nnazua Kolo, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Mariam Ayodeji Garuba, and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dr. Olusola Ezekiel Afolabi, to seek support in the various areas in which the Committee needs the assistance of these key stakeholders for the success of the festival.
Justifying the postponement, the Vice-Chairman said the festival had to be shifted to avail LGAs sufficient time to have ample preparation for the festival, however, insisting that the postponement is a short one as the event will come up between 27th of January, to 1st of February, 2020.
He envisioned that the festival will be a springboard for the escape from sports eclipse which the State has been experiencing since some decades ago.
Considering the financial obligations of the Committee, he advised that the Committee should work within the available financial resources to be able to excel in the programme.
The Director, Kwara State Sports Council, Coach Tunde Kazeem, notified the members that the ‘torch-of-unity’ exercise is rescheduled to take place between 9th and 17th of January, 2020, saying that other activities follow the same order as formerly arranged, adding that 25th of January will be for the arrival of officials and athletes, while accreditation and commencement of the main events will come up on 26th and 27th of January respectively.
He also noted that all events will take place at the Kwara State Stadium.
In essence, the quorum, in the long run, agreed that the festival must hold at all cost despite challenges ranging from finance and others to reciprocate the expectations of Kwarans and to boost the credential of the State, describing the event as a wonderful project of His Excellency, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, which must not fail.
Participants at the meeting were also optimistic that fruition will be attained at last as they envisaged that numerous benefits will be derived from the festival.
Additionally, it was recommended at the meeting that publicity tempo should be heightened and an ‘aggressive marketing’ be adopted.
It was also proposed by the participants that the Hon. Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, and the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, be met with tomorrow in the quest to have an appointment with the Executive Governor finalise the logistics.
Dr. Sangodare Ayinla,
Press Secretary,
Ministry of Sports and Youth Development
23/13/2019
