…Olopade, Adebajo, Sharafa-Yusuf, Falikat Ogunkoya, Others Make LOC
The Ogun State government, on Tuesday, announced its readiness to host the 2024 National Sports Festival, NSF, in fulfilment of an earlier promise made by the governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, as it unveiled leading professionals in Nigeria’s sports sector as members of the Local Organizing Committee, LOC.
Recall that the state government had earlier in May, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Sports and Youth Development.
Governor Abiodun had then told the Federal Government delegation, led by the then Minister of Sports, Mr Sunday Dare, that Ogun State, being a state noted for recording many firsts in all spheres of human endeavour, was ready to host a world-class festival in 2024, asserting that the state had capable hands and sponsors ready to support the bid.
To that end, the former minister, while expressing the Federal Government’s acceptance of the proposal, noted that the choice of Ogun State as the next host of the NSF was due to its culture of sports development, availability of sporting infrastructure and potential to host a befitting festival that would linger for a long time.
Unveiling the 16-man LOC in Abeokuta, the state capital on Tuesday, the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Mr. Tokunbo Talabi, in a statement, listed former Commissioner for Youths and Sports in the state, Hon. Bukola Olopade, as the chairman of the LOC, alongside Mr Tilewa Adebayo, a sports enthusiast, as co-chairman.
Olopade, the progenitor of the top-rated Access Bank-sponsored Lagos City Marathon, Abeokuta 10-Kilometer Marathon race, and the Remo Ultra-Race, remains topnotch in the world of sports in Nigeria.
Another member of the Committee, Chief (Mrs.) Falilat Ogunkoya-Omotayo, MON, globally regarded as the Queen of Tracks, is a 1998 World Cup of Athletics Champion, 400-metre grand prix champion, 200-metre world champion, two-time Olympics medalist and the first Nigerian female to win an individual Olympics medal and hold the African record in 400 metres till date.
Others members of the LOC include the Secretary-General of the LOC for the NSF Edo 2020, Dr Emmanuel Igbinosa, one of Nigeria’s notable sports administrators, former chairman of the Lagos State Sports Commission, LSSC); working committee member of the African Table Tennis Federation, ATTF, and Chairman of the Youth Committee of African Table Tennis Federation, Dr Kweku Tandoh, as well as the renowned sports psychologist and head of the Department of Sports and Exercise Medical Sciences at University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana, Professor Oluwaseun Olanrewaju Omotayo.
Other members if the committee are: the Vice Chairman of Ijebu Ode Local Government, Hon Dare Alebiosu; Mr. Kunle Solaja, Olusegun Oyende, Mr Olatunji Onatolu, Mrs. Modele Sharafa-Yussuf, Demola Are, Abiodun Jubril Elegbede, Ola Opedimeji Adisa, the former Commissioner for Youth and Sports and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The statement said that the LOC has been mandated to set up sub-committees, made up of various stakeholders to ensure a hitch-free exercise, as well as deliver a sports festival that is second to none in the country.
