Bello Rewards Niger Flickers with a New Astro Turf, Bus
For winning the National Hockey Super League, the Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has promised to build a brand new Astro Turf pitch for Niger Flickers Hockey Team in Minna.
In addition, Governor Bello also promised to build a brand new sports complex for the use of the state’s athletes.
Speaking in Minna while receiving the worthy hockey league champions on Wednesday at the Government House, the state’s chief executive said that contracts for the two projects have already been awarded but did not state at what cost.
While congratulating Flickers for a job well done, the governor said that time was ripe for the state to take its rightful place in Nigeria’s sports.
“The time is ripe for Niger State to regain its lost glory and reestablish itself as a force to be reckoned with in sports in our country,” observed Bello.
The governor donated a brand new bus to the Niger Flickers Hockey team.
Niger Flickers defeated Police Machine by a lone goal to win the national league as well as the
ticket to represent Nigeria at the continental tournament in Egypt later in the year.
Bello reiterated that “a roadmap for sports development in the state will be designed,” adding that the necessary legislations would be made to ensure that no government abandons the policy.
“A roadmap will soon be designed for sports development in this state. We will ensure that necessary legislations are put in place to ensure that no succeeding government pays lip service to sports development in this state,” the governor assured stakeholders in Niger State sports.
He therefore directed the Ministry of Education in the state to revive school sports, describing it as “an avenue for the discovery of hidden talents.”
Niger State used to be the hub for handball and hockey excellence in the country with the state owned Niger Tornadoes a major force in the country’s topflight football league. The state also had in the past, a basketball team that competed at the highest level of the game in the country.