December 12, (THEWILL) –Â At the closing ceremony of Delta 2022 over the weekend, President Muhammadu Buhari praised the State’s government and people for organising the best National Sports Festival in recent memory and for providing the Games with high-quality facilities.
Team Delta, the competition’s host and defending champion, successfully defended their championship with 649 medals, including 320 gold, 200 silver, and 120 bronze. Team Edo came in third with 339 medals, consisting of 78 gold, 94 silver, and 167 bronze, whereas Team Bayelsa took second place with 337 medals, consisting of 132 gold, 115 silver, and 90 bronze.
Sunday Dare, the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, spoke on behalf of President Buhari, extolling the Teams for their exceptional achievement at the competition. He said: “As sportsmen and women, we have been trained to accept defeat at a Sports event as a challenge to do better next time, therefore, we are all winners. With that, I congratulate all the athletes, coaches, technical and other officials for making the Festival a memorable one.
“I salute the government and people of Delta State for the successful organization of the best National Sports Festival. I commend His Excellency, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and his team, for the high standard of facilities provided for the Festival. I urge you to be creative in putting the facilities to good use that can generate revenue for the coffers of the state government.
“Sports has over the years proven to be an enabler for economic activities in the host state and community, it has also fast-tracked the provision of infrastructure and led to the development of new cities and therefore, urged all states of the Federation and the FCT to continue to partner the federal government in its sports development efforts so that together as a nation, we can attain our sports development vision.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
