By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
The Cross River State Commissioner for Sports Development, Hon. Agnes Atsu, has called for support from stakeholders to enable the administration of Senator Bassey Edet Otu to revive the sector for the betterment of the state.
She promised to do everything within her reach to ensure that sports development in the state is given a priority attention.
The commissioner made the pledge while speaking in an interactive session with journalists at the end of pivotal strategic partnership meeting with critical stakeholders in the sports sector in Calabar, on Saturday.
She said that despite the abandonment of the sector by previous administrations, the Senator Otu administration has a lot to offer to ensure that sports bounces back in the state.
Atsu solicited the support of critical stakeholders towards the development of the sector so that sporting activities can return to the state as it were decades ago.
Giving a general overview of activities of the sector upon assumption of office, Atsu said, “With sports, so much can be attracted to the state,
“There can be employment generation, there can be sports activities for young people to showcase their God-given talents and probably get the talent exploited.”
In her welcome remarks to the Commissioner for Finance, Mike Odere, she underscored the historical significance of sports in the state and emphasized the need for transformation in service delivery across all MDAs to rejuvenate the sector in the state.
On the importance of the meeting, the sports commissioner maintained that the meeting was to create avenue where the ministry could synergize and form collaboration with relevant ministries in the state to revamp the sports sector.
In his remarks, the Cross River State Sports Development Consultant, Dr. Macfarlane Ejah, who identified challenges in sports administration, outlined key projects aimed at rebranding, collaboration, income generation, and organization of secondary schools sports competition and local government areas games among other initiative towards redevelopment of sports in the state.
He called for initiation of policies and programmes that would pave way for private sector investment in the sporting sector.
The meeting was rounded off with a special committee set up by the commissioner to ensure that decisions reached between sports ministry and other critical stakeholders in the sector were followed strictly for the betterment of sports in the state.
