The Nasarawa State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Lucky Yargwa, has expressed optimism that the State’s contingent participating at the 21st edition of the National Sports Festival (NSF), will end the biannual multi-sport fiesta amongst the top ten highest medal-winning States.
Yargwa disclosed this at the Media Centre of the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, while briefing journalists covering the Sports Festival.
“We are participating in 27 Sporting Events. In all of these Sports, we are very confident of surpassing our previous medal records,” Yargwa said.
“So far, Team Nasarawa has won three medals – one Silver from Para-Table Tennis and two Bronze coming from Taekwondo Events (Poomsae Individual and Poomsae Team Events), ” Yargwa added.
“Some of our athletes are already in the medal stage in some sports, and before the end of today, we should have more medals in our cabin. There are many other sporting events we are yet to commence participation in.”
“But I want to assure you that before the end of the Festival, Team Nasarawa will be among the top ten highest medal-winning States,” Yargwa said.
Yargwa noted that members of Team Nasarawa were adequately supported, both financially and morally, by the Government to enable them excel at the event. The Commissioner said that Governor Abdullahi Sule had redeemed his 16.5 Million Naira pledge to athletes who won medals at the 2021 National Sports Festival in Benin City, Edo State.
The Commissioner commended the Governor for the huge investment in Youth and Sports Development in the State, explaining that the Governor’s magnanimity and passion for sports and talent development had made Nasarawa State a force to reckon with in Nigeria and beyond.
He advanced that the Governor Sule-led administration was deliberately embarking on the construction of sports infrastructure across the State to provide an enabling ground for talent discovery, leisure, and revenue generation. The Commissioner applauded the organisers of the National Sports Festival for providing a serene setting for the event to hold.
“I must commend the organisers of the Sports Festival, including the Delta State Government, the Federal Government, and Partners for ensuring that this Event doesn’t only hold, but meets the required standard,” Yargwa said.
“The facilities are wonderful. The coordination is welcoming, and the hostel accommodation, especially for my contingent members, is excellent.”
The 2022 National Sports Festival kick-started on 29th November 2022 and will climax on Saturday, 10th December 2022.
