By Olusegun Folarin
The 22nd National Sports Festival, GATEWAY GAMES 2024, has ended in Ogun State as Nigerians harp on the need to leverage sports for sustainable peace and economic growth.
According to Radio Nigeria, the official closing ceremony, held at the MKO Abiola Sports Arena, Kuto Abeokuta, offered an avenue for national leaders and sports administrators to highlight the importance of sports as a veritable tool for nation-building.
The occasion was the climax of the two-week-long fireworks of thrilling performances and exceptional athletic talents, showcasing stiff competition for honours in 33 different sporting activities involving more than 10,000 participants.
At the final stage, Delta State clinched the first spot as the overall winner of the largest sports Fiesta with more than 320 medals, with Bayelsa, Ogun, Rivers and Edo states forming a queue on the score-line.
Addressing the massive gathering of participants and enthusiasts at the closing ceremony, President Bola Tinubu acknowledged that the national sports festival had continued to encourage the spirit of togetherness among citizens, irrespective of social, political, religious or cultural differences.
President Tinubu, who was represented by the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, expressed his determination to change the country’s situation for the better and secure the future of the generations yet unborn, adding that the revitalisation of school sports would further contribute tremendously to national growth.
In a message to the event, Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said the festival was a reminder that every young Nigerian had the capacity for greatness and excellence through the display of courage and sportsmanship.
He encouraged the stakeholders to sustain the legacies of the games and cherish the memories created, describing all the participants as champions, not only of sports, but of unity, diligence, resilience and national pride.
In a remark, Governor Dapo Abiodun said the competition had served as a powerful engine for local economic revitalisation, infrastructure enhancement, community engagement and statewide pride beyond the thrill of the festival.
Governor Abiodun assured that his administration would not relentlessly sustain sports development among other sectors in the state.
Earlier, Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Mallam Sheu Dikko, had emphasised that the Ogun State government had succeeded in raising the bar and setting a new benchmark for organising a befitting sports festival.
The highlight of the closing ceremony was the presentation of the flag to Enugu as the next host of the event before the symbolic putting off of the games torch to indicate an end to the 22nd of the festival.
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