Sports
National Sports Festival: SOWEGA lauds Abiodun for promoting youths devpt
“Ogun State is contributing to the growth of talented athletes and promoting a healthier and more active society," Olokun added.
Damilola Ajibola
The Board of Trustees of South West Development Association (SOWEGA) has commended the Ogun State Government and Governor Dapo Abiodun for hosting the 22nd National Sports Festival in the Gateway state.
Dr. Babatunde Olokun, who heads the association, in a statement, described sports as veritable for youth development and hailed the governor for “annexing the opportunity of bringing this sport event to our state for the benefit of not only the youths of the state but also of the country.
“This initiative underscores the importance accorded sports, which is vital to nation-building, promoting youth development, and fostering national unity.
“Ogun State is contributing to the growth of talented athletes and promoting a healthier and more active society,” Olokun added.
He said by hosting the event, which is expected to see athletes from across the country converge on the state, the government will showcase the potential of the Gateway state to the world as well as its capabilities in hosting major sporting events.
“On the whole, this is a commitment to promoting sports and youth development in particular and nation-building in, general”, he stated.
Highlighting the objectives of SOWEGA, which was formed in 2012 and successfully hosted public sports events in 1995 and 2012, particularly the maiden Ogun 2021 Local Olympics, tagged SOWEGA OGUN 2021, Olokun stated that the private sector initiative aims to complement the government’s efforts in youth Development to position sports as the special purpose vehicle (SPV) for achieving zonal development and deepen the integration of people of the zone.
Also according to him, it provides a constant avenue for inculcating the intrinsic value of sportsmanship of the youth of the zone; provides the spirit of leadership, teamwork, and value of striving to achieve set goals and meeting aspirations through hard work and also enables the youth to display sports talents that may be economically viable to them in the world of sports professionalism.
