Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has instructed the state ministries of Education and Sports to collaborate with the Ministerial Organising Committee of the recently concluded State Sports Festival to reinstate sporting activities in primary and secondary schools.
He emphasised the importance of reviving defunct inter-house and inter-school sporting competitions.
Speaking at the closing and medal presentation ceremony of the State Sports Festival, which concluded over the weekend, the governor highlighted the necessity of identifying talents at an early age to enable them to shine on national and international platforms.
He described the sports sector as a multi-billion-dollar global industry, integral to the sports tourism component of the ARISE Agenda blueprint of his administration.
“I want the Ministerial Organising Committee to work with the State Ministry of Education to revive inter-house sports across all our schools in this State. That is where we can nurture talent. We can catch them young.
“In the past, we used to visit other secondary schools for sports competitions.
I would like to see the return of these inter-secondary school sports festivals. I can tell you that this is where we discovered some of our talented stars abroad. We will ensure funding is available, but we must promote both sport and tourism. This will become a regular event in our calendar.
“We aim to tap into this vast industry and discover new talents who will represent us at major sporting events. The theme of this festival—’Nurturing Talents, Promoting Tourism’—captures our strategic vision in this regard. Tourism is a key pillar of this administration as we prepare our State for growth beyond oil.
“We anticipate the commissioning of our ARISE Resorts in December, which will feature world-class amenities, including a 9-hole golf course and both indoor and outdoor sporting pavilions,” he stated.
Governor Eno noted that the last sports festival in the State was held 15 years ago, describing the 2025 edition as a revitalisation of sports in the area.
“Over the past week, we have brought together 3,600 youths from all 31 local government areas, who, in an inspiring display of unity, brotherhood, sportsmanship, and peace, competed for honours in 18 individual sports and five team sports. The event has, by all accounts, been a resounding success,” he added.
Governor Eno congratulated all the athletes who took part in the week-long event, stating, “You and the State are all winners; the youths are all winners, and the local government chairmen, who consistently supported their athletes and cheered them to victory, are winners too.”
He also congratulated athletes from the State who participated in the recent National Youth Games in Asaba, Delta State, commending them for winning 11 gold medals, 9 silver medals, and 10 bronze medals, as well as achieving 7th place overall out of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory that competed.
“We are rewarding all gold medalists with N500,000 each, N250,000 for silver, and N150,000 for bronze medalists. We will provide further training at the Sports Academy in Eket, a strategic investment aimed at discovering, preparing, and exposing our youths to compete in sporting events, utilising modern sporting equipment we have acquired for the Academy.”
Medallists from the sports festival, which produced 156 gold medallists, 156 silver medallists, and 198 bronze medallists across 18 competitive sports, will also receive rewards: Gold medal: N500,000; Silver medal: N250,000; Bronze medal: N150,000.
