‘Udom is empowering youths through sports’
AKWA Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel is investing optimally in sports development as a veritable tool for empowerment and job creation for the teeming youths of the state, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Charles Udoh has said. Speaking during a one-day seminar organised by the state’s sports journalists in Uyo on Tuesday, Udoh named the on-going construction of 10 modern sports centers in the state to aid discovery of talented athletes, hosting of the first Akwa Ibom State Youth Sports Festival and turning Akwa Ibom into the football capital of Nigeria through the hosting of the Super Eagles, which became the first African team to qualify for the Russia 2018 World Cup as areas of investment aimed at empowering youths in the state through sports. He noted that under the governor, Akwa United won Nigeria’s FA Cup twice in three years, adding that Team Akwa Ibom also finished second on the medals table at the 2017 National Youth Sports Festival, as well as the emergence of Ibom Angels as runners- up in the 2017 Nigeria Female FA Cup.
“Our governor is spending so much money on sports because he wants to alleviate poverty, create jobs and wealth for youths in the state and beyond. Every weekend that sport is being played in the state, a lot of hotel rooms are filled, now that is job and wealth creation,” he said. He called on sports journalists in the state to project the socio-economic potential that abound in the sector in the state, stressing that they should see beyond the ordinary to the value chain in sports development in the state.